Sleeping Handsome
by Kit2000
Summary: A kiss of true love can wake up from a deep dreaming. A Shinn/Luna fanfic
1. Chapter 1

Sleeping Handsome

A/N This is a fairy-tale based on Gundam Seed Destiny anime.

Main theme: A kiss of true love can wake up from a deep dreaming.

I don't own Gundam Seed/Destiny and its characters.

English is not my native language, so please be gentle ^_^

Chapter 1

Once upon a time there was a Kingdom named Zaft. A brave, valiant and very honest King ruled that country. He and his wife had two children: a son and a daughter. The Prince inherited his father's brevity, nobleness and a strong feeling of justice. His name was Shinn. He loved his little sister and was a decent big brother who cared about her behavior.

One day, there was a ball that had place to happen because of Prince's 18th birthday. Lots of different guests from different parts of the Kingdom and from other Kingdoms were invited. Prince Shinn tried to pay his attention to every one in the palace. He was in high mood and danced a lot. After some time he asked a young woman in her early 30s for a dance. She accepted his offer with great pleasure. It is needless to say that Prince was very handsome. He had so beautiful eyes of the colour of young red grape's wine, which were framed with thick and long eyelashes. As black as a raven's wing was his hair. He was tall and broad in shoulders. Every princess could fell in love with him. And they did! But not only princesses were dreaming about Prince Shinn, young widows and just simple female servants wished to be close to him.

But the Prince didn't know about it. He had never experienced any deep feelings for anyone. That's why he was a little selfish.

The lady, who the Prince danced with, became obsessed with him. She was burning inside with unbearable wish to be with him no matter what other people would say. It was a dishonored wish that she wanted to come true.

One day she was passing by a fabulous lake of Zaft, which was famous for its pure waters. Then, she noticed someone in the lake and ordered to stop the carriage. She looked carefully and understood that the person in the lake was the Prince Shinn himself. He finished his swimming and went out of the water only in his under-pants. He approached a tree, took his clothes that consisted of a light shining hauberk, a belt with precious stones, a sword and high boots, and put them on. The drops of water that stayed on his skin were sparkling under the sun rays. The lady couldn't do anything but stare at him from her secret shelter.

The Prince didn't notice her. After the last glance at the lake he jumped on the horse's back and rid to the royal palace.

After what she had seen the lady decided to make her dream come true. She went to the famous wizard of that country and pleaded him to help her conquering the Prince's heart. The wizard, whose name was as common as Jibril, smirked and made a lip-gloss for her. He said that if she wanted the Prince to be hers so badly, she should put that lip-gloss on her lips and kiss the Prince. And then he would be hers for eternity.

The lady thanked the man and went home to fulfill every wizard's word.

For some time she carefully stalked the Prince to know his habits better. She learned that Prince Shinn was keen on riding horse in the evenings. So, the lady found the certain time for her plan. When Prince was riding his white horse in one of the beautiful summer evenings, the lady pretended that she had been robbed and asked him for help, because she didn't know where she was.

Prince Shinn understood her situation and agreed. He took her on his horse's back and sat her in front of him. After that she hugged him forcefully and pressed her lips to his. Prince was shocked by the lady's action. The rein fell from his hands as his eyes felt heavy suddenly. The next moment he closed his eyes and fell on her unconscious. The lady panicked. She didn't know what to do. She tried to wake him up but it was no use. Prince fell asleep and nothing could help him to regain consciousness.

She cried. She didn't want that to happen. She carefully took him form the horse and laid his body down on the soft green grass. He looked gorgeous in his sleep. But he was almost dead, though, the beauty of his face and the tanned skin stayed the same. His chest was moving up and down so slowly that one could say that he was not breathing.

She looked at his handsome face with sorrow and kissed his full lips again but nothing happened.

And than a familiar voice could be heard.

"It's no use, dear. He will not awake".

The lady turned her head to see Jibril the wizard. He was smiling mysteriously.

"Tell me how can I wake him up?"

The wizard smirked.

"Only a kiss of a true love can make him open his eyes".

"I tried but nothing happened".

"Are you sure that your kiss was filled with true and pure love? You were obsessed with him and there were only passion and lust in your heart. This young man can't be awakened by such perverted thoughts of yours".

The lady was getting angry. She stood up and approached the wizard, wishing to bit him up.

"I asked you to make him mine! What have you done?" she shouted at his face.

"I did what you asked me to. He is yours for the whole eternity. You may do what you want to him".

"It's not what I wished!!!"

"You are a hopeless woman! Now look what you have done! You're older than him for almost 15 years. Now, after your stupid dreams, the King has lost his heir and the Asuka dynasty can disappear! But I owe you. You've done a great work for me. Sayonara!"

With that he turned to leave.

"Wait! What should I do now? How should I live?"

"You may have him. I will tell the King that his son has been killed by a wild bear".

She cried in despair.

The wizard left the place and did as he said. The King and the Queen were almost devoured with misery and sorrow. Their only son was dead and nothing could bring him to live. But they had a daughter left and they wished their little princess to be happy. So one day she married Jibril, the man who tried to save the Prince from the bear. As evidence, he gave Prince's family-ring to the King.

What comes to the lady, after that incident she died from sorrow very soon. She understood that she was pathetic and killed Prince's happiness along with the whole country. So, she couldn't live her life with that sin in her soul and one day she closed her eyes forever.

As for Jibril, he was on the 7th heaven from happiness. He erased The Prince from his way to become the next powerful King of Zaft.

150 years had passed. The Queen Mayu died long ago. She didn't have children, so the only ruler of the country was Jibril. As we all know he was a wizard and he knew how to make his life longer.

When he began drinking a magic potion it made his appearance look like he was not elder than 25 but then it wasn't enough for him. While he managed to keep a young appearance, he could keep his age a secret. In order to protect his throne, he needed to live in different generations. Jibril married princesses and noble women but they didn't have his children as he was futile. But he was a sly man and spread a rumor that his wife had born a baby-boy but passed away while doing so. (Oh, and he was the one who helped his poor wifes to die only to keep his secret)

So, after some time he announced himself as an heir and became a king again. But now he was getting older with every year because after 150 years of drinking the magic potion Jibril's body got used to it and it didn't bring an awaited result anymore. Now he looked like a 50 years old man but he felt that his health was getting worse with every year.

His main dream was to create a potion that would make a person look young and give him an eternal life. That idea came to him when he found a recipe in one of his old wizard books. There was one problem—the components for the potion were very rare and hard to find. To create the potion he needed to make a chemical formula in sharp proportions.

One day he was wandering through the forest searching for some plants for his potion. His black cat was walking next to him when suddenly it rushed ahead and vanished between two tall trees. Jibril was surprised and disappointed at the same time. He loved his cat and couldn't let it go away so easily. So, he ran towards the trees (it was hard to do, remember, he was a very old person…his real age was 175 years) and suddenly found himself in a cave. Jibril looked around. He heard the sound of falling water and went straight ahead. The next thing he saw was an exit covered with water that came from above. He approached it and went through the falling water. When he opened his eyes at the other side of the waterfall he was shocked of what he saw…

**Our ****world.**

"Lunamaria! You are reading again!"A blond young man said with irritation in his voice. "What is it for this time?"

The girl didn't reply, she showed him the face of the book and turned the next page, never leaving her eyes from letters.

""Sleeping Beauty"??? Luna, you're 20 already. Stop reading stupid fairy-tales!"

She nodded automatically and continued to read.

"You are hopeless, really?"the boy exhaled after rolling his eyes. "Anyway, the colonel asked you to his office. I think you are going to have another mission against that Jibril guy".

She closed the book with a bang.

"I hate him!" was her reply.

"Who? The colonel or…"

"Jibril, of course! We have been fighting against him for almost 1,5 year and there is still no result. People are suffering from his unlimited power. I wonder who made him a Chairman".

"Not me, be sure. But I wonder too. He is like an alien, who conquered our country. Our division is sure that he is the main reason why this political war broke out. But we have no evidence. Anyway, you should go to the colonel's".

"Thank you, Rei".

"You are welcome" He smiled. "Tell me, what is it so interesting in this book?" The guy pointed at the book in her hands.

"I love this story. When I was little, I've always dreamed about a Prince who would rescue me from dragon and wake me up with a gentle kiss. That's why I adore this book so much".

"I see…well, sleeping beauty, let's go to the colonel La Fraga until he fired you and me for coming late".

And they both went out of the tent.

OooooO

As it has been expected, she indeed has been sent for a new mission. The meaning of her task was to collect as much information as possible from the native drawers in the mountains. And what surprised her the most, she had to do it not as a soldier but as a tourist. Well, colonel La Fraga was famous for his 'own vision of stars'. But a fact remained a fact: this is her mission and she has to proceed immediately.

The drawlers told her later that something strange was happening. They saw some people coming from the top of the mountains. The drawlers also told her that the trains brought some huge boxes and those people put those boxes in the cargo cars and wend back to the mountains.

The next day after visiting a small town, Luna rented a mountain moped and proceeded to search for any kind of human vestige. Unfortunately, she didn't know where to begin, so all she decided was to keep on searching. During this action she found a waterfall. It wasn't big but it was a real and very beautiful and refreshing waterfall. Luna didn't differ from any other girl. She had a great sense of curiosity. Remembering all the movies she had watched, there was usually some kind of cave behind the falling water. And now, thanks for all curiosity she had in her; the girl began to explore the place that attracted her mind so much.

In fairy-tales, you will always find what you were searching for. In real life it happens very seldom, but Lunamaria believed in fairy-tales and wanted to find what she knew she wanted to find.

The waterfall really had a secret cave. This fact delighted her mood. She carefully, not to get too wet, entered the dark cave and made several steps inside, but to her great surprise, she was standing among tall trees after doing so. Her senses thrilled a little, but being a soldier, she collected herself together and continued to observe the territory.

It was a forest, she mentally noted; very clean and beautiful forest. Thankfully, it wasn't too big, so she made her way straight ahead, hoping to find something unusual. After wandering for some time she saw a silhouette of a palace-like building on the top of the hill. It looked medieval. Lunamaria was very surprised. She hadn't seen medieval castles since her childhood when she went to visit an ancient castle with her parents in France. It is needed to say that the girl liked everything connected to the times of knights, beautiful ladies and of course brave and loyal princes. But, unfortunately for her, she was born at the era of high technological progress and this fact made her upset. She couldn't stand all those dangerous weapons that took away millions of lives because of someone's profit. And what about those poor children whose parents had been killed during those savage terroristic acts at the time of which she had place to live her life?

Luna had very kind heart and sometimes it didn't work out the way she felt. Being a soldier, you have to follow all the orders you have been given even if your point of view is much different than your boss's. This fact was the worst thing in her military career. She decided to become a soldier after her father's disappearing. She lounged to continue the dream of his life—to protect innocent people and give them a happy life without wars and dictators. A strong sense of justice was the most distinguishing feature of Hawke family. Her father, who was a general and organized special military force that struggled against political dictators, always taught her to protect people even if they were not on your side. He always said:

"_There is no other thing that could be more precious than human's life_"

It was the motto of her life and she tried her very best not break it. She hated wars and the people who had straight relations with their beginnings. Two weeks ago she went to visit her mother. While driving a car to their family estate, she turned on the radio. There was a song with meaningful lyrics that caught the girl's attention.

_**Listen to the rain, widow**_

_**Listen to the rain**_

_**Teardrops of the killed**_

_**Seeking their widows**_

_**Listen to the wind, orphan**_

_**Listen to the wind**_

_**The killed are calling their babies**_

_**Oh, merciful sovereigns**_

_**All your good intentions**_

_**Tell me, are they worth **_

_**A baby's cry?**_

_**Oh, what do they do?**_

_**Lord, what do they do?**_

_**Is their justice worth**_

_**A harmless child's blood?**_

Every word in the lyrics described all the awful things that could happen during the war. Luna understood that the song could have voiced all her life, everything that she wanted to live for. To protect humans' lives—it was the main intention of her will and mind. All she wanted was to make that political war end. And she had to do it no matter what, even if it could cost her own life.

While she was caring those thoughts in her mind, she didn't notice that she was now standing at the bottom of a hill on the top of which she saw a castle. She looked back and understood that she was standing in the moat (fosse) that was used to separate the castle's walls from the forest.

"_There is no way I go back before observing this mysterious pla_ce"

With those thoughts she started to climb the grassy surface until reaching her main goal—the huge castle's gates that were opened for her great surprise.

She looked around carefully. An unbearable sense of danger started to tease her inside. She hated this feeling. Her hand moved to her back-bag as for insurance. And as she was searching for something in her bag, a very loud roar shook the ground suddenly. The sound was as loud as an approaching helicopter's. Than the weather suddenly changed from warm and sunny to very windy and there was a feeling like the sun decided to hide itself from the coming danger.

Lunamaria felt like it couldn't be the weather's fault. She heard that unbearable roar-sound again from which the hair on her skin stood on end. Feeling like the danger is coming she looked up and saw the thing she was sure she would never be able to see in her life.

Right above her there was a huge and very ugly lizard-like red dragon with dropping saliva from its opened jaws. Its snake-like eyes were looking at her and it was ready to attack her with its clawed paws and tail any moment.

Luna, in her shocked state, grabbed the first object that she could grope for in her bag and looked at her hand immediately. She was holding a hand-grenade. Without any other back thought she ripped the pin off and threw the grenade at the opened jaws of the monster right at the time when it wanted to clench its fangs into her.

The dragon devoured a little object and roared again. Meanwhile, Luna took her little pistol, which was hidden under her light-pink coloured summer dress, out of a rubber of her white stockings and started to shoot at the disgusting animal trying to destroy its eyes.

After little amount of time she heard a loud sound of explosion and thanks for some miracle, she avoided all the bloody drops and entrails that now could be found everywhere. The only thing that got a little dirty was her white snickers. The dragon's head lay some meters away in the pool of its own blood. The scenery was disgusting and it made the girl sick. The smell was so stinking that Luna tried to summon all her will not to vomit. Leaving this place as quickly as it possible, she headed to the main gates and entered the castle.

-------

A/N end of the first chapter. Thank you for reading. Please read and review.

The song is "Listen to the rain" by Plazma (it's a Russian band that sings in English) The song is really great, so try to find it on youtube ^_^


	2. Chapter 2

Sleeping Handsome

Chapter 2

Step by step she tried to observe the inside of the castle. Everything was covered with thick layer of dust. The only sources of light were dirty windows, but they didn't help too much, that's why Luna used her electric torch to make her way easier.

Not finding anything interesting on the ground floor, she went upstairs. To her great surprise the castle consisted of 4 floors. It was exhausting to discover every room, not mentioning that every object was dirty and dusty that brought the feeling of total disgust.

Sometimes it was hard to breathe. But what really made Luna mad was a freezing coldness. Her light summer dress with shoulder-straps didn't warm her body at all. She was shivering. As far as the girl knew, old types of such buildings were very hard to heat, but she couldn't understand why it was so deserted here. She remembered the scary dragon outside and it made her stomach flip. Something was really wrong with this place. It reminded her of those haunting houses that she had seed in the horror movies. The memory made her feel even colder than before.

The girl brought back the memory of the true intention why she was here. She had been sent to collect the information about a place where the terrorists could hide, that's why she was observing the castle for the last hour. But if to be honest, it felt like there had been nobody here for who knows how long.

Luna griped all her courage and opened the last door on the 4th floor that she hadn't checked yet.

She stepped inside, entering the brightest room, filled with light from three windows. From the shapes of the room, the girl understood that it must be a tower.

Luna felt easier somehow. She looked around. The first thing that caught her eyes was a large bed with half-transparent red curtains, framed with golden fabric, fixed on 4 wooden columns. The curtains hid the surface of the bed, so Hawke decided to take a look inside. She didn't know why, but something was drawing her. Carefully, her hand took aside one of the curtains.

Her eyes widened in outer surprise when she comprehended what she saw, or even…who…

Right there on a large royal-sized bed laid a handsome young man. His face looked like it was made of pure beeswax. With his eyes closed, Luna guessed that he was sleeping peacefully. His raven hair was a mess, but a narrow golden crown that was worn around his head, made it stay in a right place. That crown…She carried her gaze to the young man's outfit. It looked expensive and…medieval? Well, it wasn't an outfit of a king, but still it resembled more like a prince's. A shining hauberk, a long deep-red cloak with golden clips on the shoulders, a belt with precious stones, black tight leather pants, high brown jack-boots and...a sword in its owner's hands that were lying on his stomach.

This person…he looked so gorgeous. The girl felt a pleasant warmth appearing on her cheeks. She unconsciously sat on the edge of the bed and looked carefully at the sleeping boy once more.

Yes, a boy was a right word to describe him. He looked so young, maybe the same age as her. What could happen to him? Why was he in a such scary place all alone? The expression on his face could be called as a total peace.

She felt an unbearable feeling to touch him, even if her actions waked him up. Lunamaria gently brushed some strands away from his forehead with her fingers. He had thick and silky hair, she noted.

"_Why isn't he awaking_?" she thought curiously.

Luna laid her gaze on his chest, which…wasn't moving? Was he dead?

Without a second thought she pressed her ear to his unmoving chest. A contact of her skin with a cold metal of a hauberk sent shivers down her body, but she didn't notice that. She tried to hear the main sound of person's life—the sound of a heartbeat. To her disbelieve his heart wasn't beating at all.

Lunamaria Hawke, the captain of the military forces, panicked. She quickly placed her hands on his shoulders and began to shake, but nothing happened.

"What should I do?!!! Ok, girl, breathe,"she tried to calm herself. "You're a military woman, you must have a cool mind. Let's think. If he is dead, then he must be pale and cold, right?"

With those words she laid her palm on his cheek.

"No" she swallowed hard "he is not cold" was an uneasy confirmation. "His body's as warm as mine. He even has a flush on his face".

She tried to find the main sign of life in his body once more. This time she pressed her ear to the metallic surface tightly, ignoring its coldness, closed her eyes and began to listen very carefully.

She spent some minutes in that position, but nothing changed. And on the 3rd minute she heard a plain but very silent sound. It was his heart beating. Her eyes opened in shock, but she didn't move from the place. In the next 3 minutes the sound repeated. After hearing that, she sat beside the body of a mysterious boy, not believing in what she had just learnt.

"It can't be…His heart beats once in 3 minutes. How is it possible?"

Only now she felt the cold air on her skin. Luna wrapped herself in her arms, trying to get warmer. Oh, if she only knew that she was going to observe such a cold building when the weather is boiling hot outside, she would have worn a fur-coat instead of a light summer-dress. Then she thought that the boy must be lucky for being sleeping and not feeling cold. But she regretted those thoughts. How could he be lucky if he was still alive and couldn't awake? She felt sorry for him.

In order to wake up the boy and not to go insane, she bent her lips closer to his ear and shouted with all strength she had.

"WAKE UP!!!!!!!"

The result was the same. He lay still without moving or breathing.

"_What should I do?? I can't leave him here. Who knows how long he will be sleeping here until someone finds him again_".

She bit her lower lip, absorbed in her own deep thoughts.

Determination was the main characteristic of her character. She really wanted to help the strange boy to awake.

A bright idea came to Luna, as she saw her back-bag on the floor. In a minute she was holding a bottle of water, in a second the content of the bottle was pouring on boy's face, wetting his dark hair.

Lunamaria was smiling while doing her reanimation process but her smile began to fade away slowly as she saw that her intentions didn't help.

The next thing she had done was acupuncture. But this method didn't bring any result too.

"Why? I tried to activate all the energy-points on his hands, ears and nose, why does it not working? It always helps me when I'm dead tired or even unconscious".

Her hands fell down from despondency. Oh, how she wanted to bring him to life, to look in his beautiful eyes. Luna knew that he had gorgeous eyes, because the handsome person as he was, couldn't have any other eyes but gorgeous. She wanted to hear his voice. Interesting, was it deep and husky or sweet and soft? The girl could only wonder.

"It's just like in "The Sleeping Beauty". Everyone tried to wake up the Princess Aurora, but she didn't leave the world of her dreams. Only a Prince could save the Princess from that state. He kissed her with a kiss of true, eternal love. But what should **I** do to wake **him** up?"

She looked at boy's face sympathetically.

"Maybe…" the girl thought "just maybe…if I do this, there is still hope?"

An uncertainty and concern could be read in her lavender orbs.

"But…do I have a right?" Hesitation filled all her mind for a moment. She once again glanced at the sleeping figure beside her. "If I do this, will you awake?"

She whispered her question in a pleading voice.

It was very hard for her to bring all her courage together. The price was very high. If she did it, she would give the life back to a certain person. She needed to do it in order to save him. Even if she didn't know who he was. Even if it was the first time she met him….she just couldn't resist doing her job: to protect lives. Yes, it wasn't one of those military methods of protecting people from danger but her heart was telling that her intentions were worthwhile.

If only it would awake him…

Closing the distance between their faces, she remembered all her love to the Prince-Charming that she believed would appear some day in her life and would give his heart to her; who would save her from the terrible dragons named "Loneliness" and "Misery"; who would see a beautiful and fragile Princess and not a soldier in her; who would love her and care for her till the very last day of his life. And she would do the same for him: to share her life with him, helping him in every business of his, be his support and a loyal and reliable friend, and of course love him till the day she closes her eyes forever only to be together with him in the whole Eternity.

And when her lips were only in some millimeters from handsome and mysterious boy's mouth, she whispered with determination:

"Please, open your eyes".

When those words left her tongue, she gently pressed her lips to his.

Luna didn't remember when her eyes closed. She didn't remember when her hands placed themselves on his chest. All she remembered was a fastened race of her heartbeat and a whirlpool of butterflies inside her rib cage, when she touched the boy's cashmere and soft lips.

The sensation was so new to her that she didn't notice for how long she stayed in that position. She felt as warmth started spreading through all her body. The feeling was so pleasant. She wasn't cold anymore. She was warmed up by the pure bliss of a magic kiss.

Her eyes opened slowly to look at the boy's face. To her regret, his eyes were closed. It was a face of a sleeping handsome.

Luna broke the contact of their lips gently and backed away. She sat on the bed straightly with her back to him. Her gaze fell on her knees.

"He hasn't awakened…it didn't help. Why am I so helpless? Why can't I wake him up? I'm so stupid".

Hot tears filled her beautiful lavender orbs.

"I have sacrificed my first kiss, believing that it would help. My heart has never felt so miserable in my whole life. I'm so childish. Rey is right, I'm too naïve believing those fairy-tales and dreaming about true and eternal love, the Prince-Charming and happy life. I'm so hopeless…I became a military-woman to have opportunity to save people's lives, but look at me! I can't even help one single boy! Why am I so weak? And why did I give my first kiss to a total stranger, if it didn't help anyway? Father, if only you were here!!! I'm sure you would deal with this situation and find the right answer…"

She was crying and babbling at the same time.

Little did she know that while she was distracted by her thought of regret, the certain person's eyes flew open like a butterfly's.

He stared at the ceiling of the bed, trying hard to understand where he was. His right hand let go of the sword's handle and reached for his face to rub the dream from each eye away. Only now he noticed that his face and hair were all wet. Why? He didn't remember swimming in a lake that day. And why were his ears, nose and hands burning and pricking occasionally? What could happen to him? He remembered riding a horse in the evening and then a lady came out from the forest and asked him for help. He agreed and took her on the horse and then…she…what did she do? She **did** something, that's for sure but what exactly? The next thing he remembered was opening his eyes and being at this place. Something was missing between his memories and it felt like a huge dark gap.

Alright, he could think about the details later. Now it was important to find out why he was here and how to get out of this place.

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of someone's sniffs and babblings. He turned his head to the side where the source of the sounds came from and…and…was shocked to see a woman sitting beside him and showing her almost nude body. It WAS a woman…but her hair…it was short and magenta??? Never in his life had he met such colour of hair before. She wasn't the lady from earlier. Who was she? Maybe a spy or a bandit? She looked like one of them. Only bandit women could wear such revealing clothes. If she was a bandit, than he had to stop her from harming innocent people! Wasn't he a Prince after all?

With one fast movement he rolled to his right and grabbed the girl by the shoulders, pushing her fragile form beneath himself. Her tearful eyes widened in total shock when she understood what had just happened. Meanwhile, the strange boy pressed a sword to her throat and looked sharply in her glittering orbs.

Luna couldn't move or speak. She still couldn't believe what was happening. How did he wake up? When did he awaken? Why didn't she senesced his presence? All those questions were running through her mind when she felt herself pressed to the very spot where he was lying before. The cold metal on her throat sent shivers down her spine, not because of its coldness but of its sharpness.

She swallowed hard. Was it her end? Was it the way she was going to die? But what about her mission? Didn't she swear to protect people from violence? She couldn't let herself to die! She was on duty! If she was going to be killed but not here and not under current circumstances!

The girl summoned all her braveness and willpower to stare right at the boy's ruby eyes. Unfortunately, she couldn't move. He managed to block her hands under her head and clutched her legs between his. He looked like a wild cat that caught its victim.

When she understood in what position he made her lie, her blood began to boil with anger.

The next moment she heard his irritated voice.

"Who are you and what did you want to do to me?"

"_Huh? Why did he ask such stupid questions_?"

"If you don't answer, I have nothing left but to kill you!"

"_WHAT??? Was he insane???"_

In order to skip a premature death, Luna licked her suddenly dried lips, and said:

"I…"

The boy showed interest. He arched an elegant raven brow and nodded slightly, ordering her to continue.

"I…" she swallowed "my name is Lunamaria. I'm a tourist and I was just passing by and found this abandoned castle where I found you….umm…sleeping in this room. So, I tried to wake you up and…" she felt really uneasy under his sharp gaze, filled with negative emotions.

"And?"

He asked her, pressing the sword deeper in her tender skin.

"…and…you awakened. That's all. Now, can you please let me go?" she tried to look all innocent and smiled a little bit sheepishly.

"No!"

"No?"

"Who do you think I am to believe in your nonsense? You said you are a "turist" but there is no such occupation!"

"Huh?" she looked at him in disbelieve, "you don't know what a tourist means? Oh" the girl thought for a moment. Perhaps, he had been sleeping for too long to be aware of new popular words. "You see, in the country where I came from, people call wanderers—tourists. I wanted to visit this place so I came here and…well, you know the rest".

"A wanderer?" he grinned haughtily "don't try kidding me. Since when did wanderers travel half-naked? You look more like a wench, who seduces men for money".

"_WHAT_???" She was unspeakable from what she heard.

"How could you fell so low?" he continued "I despise people like you".

That was the last drop to her calm temper. He was humiliating her despitefully! He called her a wench! How could he? She saved his life and that was his gratitude?

"Let me go, you maniac! How can you treat a girl like this? Where were you behaved? In a wild forest?" she was shouting at his face that expressed total surprise from her sudden outburst. "Just get away from me! You hurt me with that thing!" she pointed at the sword with her gaze. "Take your dirty hands away from me or you'll regret that was born, perverted bandit!"

His eyes widened in shock as he listened to everything the girl was shouting. He immediately let go of her hands, took the sharp edge away from her throat, and slowly stood up from the bed, never leaving his eyes from her.

As she sat up quickly, smoothing her dress and narrowing her eyes at him, he said:

"You don't know who I am, as I can see. I'm Prince Shinn of Zaft, and only dare to compare me with those barbarians once more, and you will never see the next day".

"_What's the difference, anyway_?" Luna thought rolling her eyes, standing up from the soft surface of the bed. She picked up her back-bag that had fallen on the floor because of the 'fight' earlier, and wore it on her shoulders when suddenly she comprehended the meaning of his words.

"You're…you're a PRINCE??? A real Prince???"

He heard a total surprise in her intonation.

"Where did you come from, woman? Haven't you heard of a Zaft Kingdom? My father is the King of that Kingdom".

"I…I" she tried to make up some cheap lie, but she wasn't good in that sphere "I really came from far-far away. But may I ask you a question?"

He crossed his arms on the chest and arched a brow.

"Yes, you may".

She smiled.

"If you're a Prince, than why don't you call me a 'lady' or something else in that style? You must have good manners, if you're a royal blooded".

He smirked.

"Because I can't call a half-naked wench in front of me 'a lady'".

Her jaw fell and eyes widened in astonishment.

"How…how dare you call me such low names?" she greeted her teeth. "Never in my whole life had I been so humiliated!"

Luna inhaled and exhaled slowly to calm herself down. She went passed him and before exiting the room, said:

"Farewell, Your Highness. I hope we will never meet again".

She walked away and left him standing all alone in the empty room.

"Let it be! I'm not interested, anyway! Whatever!"

He whispered in irritation and looked at the picture, hanging on the wall. It was a portrait of the lady from the day he lost his memory. He was deeply absorbed with his own thoughts.

"What happened the day I met you?"

----

This is the end of the 2nd chapter. Please, read and review.

Thank you for reading! Your reviews help me to continue. ^_^


	3. Chapter 3

Sleeping Handsome

Chapter 3

The warm air embraced the girl with its tender wings when she came out from the abandoned ancient castle. The sight of previous fight made her sick. She had totally forgotten about the killed dragon due to the hard feeling of offence. The stereotype of the "Prince in shining armors" was crashed into millions pieces. And it happened after her first meeting with the real royal heir. Who could think that even princes could have different manners? From what she had seen, the first impression of His Highness was not very high. He was hot tempered, cruel and had not enough knowledge of how to treat a woman! What a selfish type! She had always believed that persons of high society must know the rules of etiquette. Well, it wasn't her business anyway…but…she didn't want to hear someone calling her low names again. Never in her life! She had a pride after all!

While thinking, the girl went down the road. To her surprise she found herself far from the castle's walls. Ah, it's better not to bring back the memories of that mysterious place. Something made her feel uneasy when she tried to think of it. But what made her really confused was the remembrance of a certain young man who appeared to be sleeping and then awakened suddenly. And the reason of his awakening was…urgh!

"_Don't think of it! It doesn't count as my first kiss_!"

Ah, the memory didn't want to leave her mind.

"_How could he say those things? I tried to save his life and what did I get? Why was he so arrogant_?"

Luna stopped and looked down at her outfit curiously.

"What made him think that my dress is revealing? It's an ordinary summer dress, without sleeves and just above the knees. I don't see anything wrong about it", she said her thought out loud. Everything seemed so confusing to her.

First of all she appeared in the forest, right after stepping inside the cave! Then it was an abandoned castle and the dragon. Then she found a sleeping prince, just like an innocent princess that had been cast under the spell of some evil wizard. What was going on here? It looked more like a movie to her. And she was one of the main actors.

Anyway, if it was for real or not, she had to do something, anything to find what she was sent for.

"_But_", she thought, "_if anybody sees me and react the same way as the Prince did, than I will have troubles. I should be more careful. It's better not to stand out since I don't know what is going on in this area_".

Luna rubbed her chin in a deep thought.

"_It's better to hurry until the sun goes down_".

2 long hours had passed since she began her wandering, when she heard a sound of running water not far away. It delighted the girl's mood. It was hot outside and she felt sweaty because of the long journey on foot. That's why the next moment she went into the bushes by the road and saw crystal clear waters of the running river. Until that moment the captain couldn't image that she was longing for water so much. Her next action was bending over the river and ladling the cool water in her palm. Never in her life did she drink such delicious liquid. It was pure and couldn't be compared with that at her home.

The girl truly regretted that she left her bottle at the castle, what meant that she would be lack of water all the time until she find a new dish.

Hawke exhaled.

"_What a loss_," Luna gently ladled the water with both her palms and washed her face and neck. The sensation was so refreshing and pleasant. But it couldn't last forever. Lunamaria was a trained soldier with great sense of danger and good hearing. She heard someone's moving in the bushes but didn't show that she was aware of it.

She remained the same position as before except the expression of her beautiful violet eyes that were very concentrated. She felt as someone was approaching her from behind, and when the private space was broken, the girl threw the intruder over her slender shoulder with one swift motion and sent him flying right into the pure waters of the river. The body hit the water surface with a loud splash.

Luna stood up quickly and looked at the person who tried to do the same thing. Ruby eyes glared with anger at lavender orbs.

The person finally managed to stand up and come out of the water all wet and furious.

"It was you," said Luna surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"Until this moment, the same thing as you," he answered while twisting his wet hauberk. Well, it is needless to say that not only his upper clothes but everything he was worn in was soaking wet. His messy hair stacked to his face and it made him look both funny and handsome, especially when he took off one of his high jack-boots and tried to pour the water out of it.

Lunamaria was watching his every move with interest. He was so unusual and it scared her a little. When the Prince finished his preparations, he turned to face her. The irritation could be read in his mysterious wine-coloured eyes.

"Don't look at me like this. I'm not a ghost or something."

She stood still, not even dare to blink. Only now she noticed the true colour of his mirrors of soul. It was a mix of red and light brown, but it looked more like red, and the realization of it couldn't summon her calmness again.

He didn't like the shocked expression on her face, so he decided to answer her dumb question.

"I came here to refresh myself when I met a crazy woman who tried to kill me. Well, thank you very much, I'm more than refreshed now".

His sarcastic tone forced her to come out from her stupor. She felt the unbearable urge to speak out everything that she thought of him.

"How could I know that it was you?! I thought it was.."

What was she going to say? That she expected him to be a terrorist? He wouldn't believe her anyway.

"Never mind," she breathed out when she noticed an inquiring look on his face. "By the way, your crown has gone to the side".

He touched his head, never breaking the eye contact with her, to make sure that what she was saying was true. Indeed, the crown had slipped on the right side of his head. The Prince put it back on the centre and gave the girl a look.

"Don't glare at me like that!" she demanded. "It's not only my fault that you're all wet, you know".

"If you didn't throw me into the river a while ago, I would have been dry and happy by now".

If only you could see his posture! It was a posture of a real royal member. Even the way he held his head told that he wasn't just an ordinary commoner.

She didn't want to argue. She wasn't in a mood to do so. That's why the girl tried to change the topic.

"Why don't you take off your hauberk? It can get rusty and you can catch a cold".

"I don't need your advice. And by the way, my hauberk will never get rusty because it's made of a special alloy. Our Kingdom is famous for producing high quality armors".

With those words he turned on the hills and headed to leave.

Was that all? She tried to be friendly to him and all he had to show her was indifference?

"Wait!"

When he stopped, Luna came closer to the arrogant Prince and asked:

"Where are you going?"

He turned his head gracefully and looked down at her with his eyebrow arched.

"I'm going back to my family's the royal palace, though, I believe, it has nothing to do with you".

After saying that he turned to leave again, but felt a hand tugging his elbow.

"Do you know this area?"

This time he turned again and answered with growing irritation.

"Of course I know it! I used to swim here and ride my horse. What do you want?"

She looked right into his eyes, which held some mystery in them and couldn't but draw her closer to their master.

"I need to get to the nearest village. Where may I find one?"

"Why do you need to go there?" The Prince crossed his arms on the chest and looked at her sternly.

"What's that question?" She couldn't believe in his stubbornness. Maybe asking him wasn't a good idea from the beginning. "I need a place to stay by! I'm a wanderer! Why are you so pitiless?!"

With that outburst she went past him and hid in the bushes.

"If he doesn't want to help me, I will find the village on my own!" It was all that he could hear. Probably, she was on the main road already.

"_What an interesting girl_" thought the Prince.

OooooO

Lunamaria Hawke was furious. How could one person make all the bad emotions awaken in her? She was a military woman, she couldn't let her guard down. It was dangerous to lose her cool temper, that's why she couldn't afford herself to talk and argue with a certain person.

"Hold on!"

She heard a familiar voice and it made her stop. The owner of the voice came closer to her and went straight ahead. As he passed the girl, he said:

"We're on the same route. I'll walk you to the nearest village, though it's not too far, but if not to cut the corner through the forest, it will be a little troublesome to reach it. Let's go".

Luna was speechless. She didn't expect any help from him since he had that cocky attitude. But somehow she was glad. Maybe he was not that bad after all?

The girl obeyed his order immediately. She followed him carefully but both of them were silent all the way. It was him who began to speak first.

"So…what is the country you came from?"

It was a difficult question to answer. But she needed to say something, anything, since he was the first one who wanted to smooth the sharp ends of their relations.

"Well…"she began, trying to find the right words, "it's really far away from here. I can't say that there is something special about my country, but we're famous for high technologies".

She really tried hard not to sound too suspicious. When she looked at the Prince with the corner of her eye, she noticed that he didn't pay much attention to her words. He was deep in thoughts and concern could be read all over his handsome young face. Luna, being as curious as a cat, couldn't stand but ask:

"Is anything bothering you, Your Highness? You look a little frustrated".

"It's nothing", he answered in a sullen voice. "I was just wondering who killed the dragon outside the castle. And why it was there in the first place".

"Well, it was me, who killed it", she said solemnly and then added confused, "but I have no answer for your second question".

The Prince stopped on his tracks and looked at her with widened eyes.

"It's a lie. You're a woman! There is no way you could kill a huge monster without weapon, not to mention that it's not a women's job and that my father ordered to exterminate all the dragons a long time ago!"

The first part of the sentence caught her very pride—the pride of a soldier, the pride of a woman!

"Excuse me! I can't see any difference! Even if I'm a girl, why can't I do the things that I know I can cope with?! Even if it's men's job I had no choice but to kill that dragon or else I could be killed instead!"

Seeing a fragile girl killing a dragon? Don't be ridiculous!

"Where is the proof that it was you who killed it??" he arched his elegant eyebrow to put more effect to their debate.

"Why should I prove something to a total stranger whose ego is higher than himself?"

The girl's face was all red because of the anger that she felt boiling in her blood. He was…urgh…she had no words in her mind to describe what he was!

"Maybe because you don't have the evidence? " was his sarcastic question.

Well, he was in danger but unfortunately he didn't even suspect of it. With his question he pushed the red bottom of her self-control. And so the _true_ argue began. She was going to say something, or maybe even do something to him for his offending words. Nobody could tell for sure for how long their shouts could last if they wouldn't have been interrupted by a sudden high squall.

Being a trained soldier with great sense of justice, Luna left a still shouting boy and ran at the direction of the sound.

An amused Prince, who found himself all alone between the trees, couldn't just stand there still when he was abandoned insolently.

He followed the girl and found her hiding in the bushes in a sitting position. She was looking at something carefully.

"You know, it's not polite to run away in the middle of our talk", he assumed.

"Quite!!!" she hissed, pressing an index finger to her pink lips.

Of course he wouldn't have followed her advice but the sudden sound of woman's squall made him change his mind. The Prince sat beside Luna and began to do the same thing as her—watching.

They happened to become witnesses of a scene where two men in armors and swords on their belts wanted to commit something indecent to a young girl with long auburn air. Her dress was ripped and she tried to cover her upper body with her arms. It was her who squalled. And her squalls meant that she was crying for help.

"I can't let them do this!" said Luna and turned her head to look at the Prince…who was absent from his sit. She looked around and found him standing with his drawn sword.

"What are you doing?" she asked him in disbelief.

The Prince tightened his grip around the hilt of his sword and with narrowed eyes answered solemnly:

"A lady is in danger! I must save her or else I shouldn't be called a prince!"

She just rolled her eyes. Really, he looked very enthusiastic.

"Wait a minute," Luna stood up and came closer to a valiant royal heir. "Let me do this. You wanted a proof of my strength, right? So, here is a chance for you to see that all I said earlier was truth. So, what is your answer?"

He gifted her with a look like she was crazy.

"I won't allow you to do it. You are a woman as her," he pointed behind the bushes where the girl tried to scratch the man's face.

"There is no time to argue again, Prince!" the captain demanded. "Give me your cloak. If they react for my dress the same way as you, it would be a little troublesome to knock them out".

He just fumed. From what he had seen she was serious about it.

"I agree," he hissed with arrogance while taking off his long deep-red cloak. Luna took it quickly from his hands and wrapped herself in it.

"Now I will show you that I'm not that weak as you think".

"Whatever, just don't cry for my help when you get trapped," he said watching her disappear in the bushes.

OooooO

Lunamaria stepped into a view of the scene.

"Get your hands away from her!" she ordered in a serious tone.

The men didn't listen to what she said. When they noticed her presence they just smiled at each and nodded.

Watching their actions she couldn't stand but repeat her words.

"I said let her go! How dare you attack a harmless girl!? You're barbarians!!"

"Now-now…" said one of the armored men, who started to approach her with an evil grin on his face. "You are a pretty little one. We are the guardians of King Jibril's squad. We're authorized to do anything we want".

"How low you have fallen! I hate such men as you!"

In a blink of an eye she ran towards the soldier and punched his nose, which sent him to fall on the ground and suffer from the pain in his broken nose. While he was counting the stars around his head, the girl took off his helmet and hit him at the neck, causing him to attend a world of wonderland.

The second guardian forgot about his victim and ran to Luna to teach her good manners, but she was more flexible than he expected. Without any difficulties she sagged back from his blow and then kicked his helmetless head with her long leg with all strength she had in that position.

Both men lay on the ground unconscious.

The scared girl looked at her savior with shiny eyes. When Hawke was sure that there was no danger anymore she came closer to the girl and asked if she was alright.

"Thank you so much for saving me, miss" she began to bow furiously.

"Oh, please, stop doing this. What is your name?" Luna asked with a smile.

The auburn-haired girl straightened herself.

"My name is Miriallia Haw. I was on my way to the castle when those soldiers attacked me and…" The tears started to form in her sky-blue eyes.

"Please calm down. They won't harm you anymore. Why did you go to the castle?"

At the moment both girls heard a sound of an approaching galloping horse. In a minute they saw a handsome young man with blonde hair and dark-complexioned skin. His bright violet eyes made a noticeable contrast with his face. He was riding a white horse and was dressed in shining silver-coloured armors.

"My-my," he said when came up to the girls. "What are you doing all alone in this area?" he asked playfully.

Luna was the one who answered his question.

"Sir, I see you are a nobleman due to your banner on your chest armor. Those two soldiers attacked this girl on her way to the castle. You must improve the discipline in your army. If we—the commoners—should be protected from the army, than who will protect us from the enemy?"

The words made sense. His face turned serious and he narrowed his violet eyes at the men.

"How dare you dishonor the glorious name of Zaft Kingdom?"

The soldiers who had gained consciousness by that time stood up immediately and bowed to the man on the horse.

"We are very sorry, Sir! It will never happen again!"

The nobleman looked at them contemptuously.

"You will get your punishment later. Now, get lost from my sight."

And they did as were told.

"Thank you, sir. I see you are a good person" Thanked him Luna.

And indeed, he didn't look like those soldiers. His posture, the manner of speaking and the quality of armors told that he was a member of bourgeoisie.

"If some of my men are bad-behaved it doesn't mean that I'm the same as them".

The gaze of his concentrated eyes fell on Miriallia, who was wrapping her arms around herself to cover the nude parts of her upper body. She was blushing furiously under his gaze.

Luna noticed the awkward situation and decided to interfere.

"Sir, as I told you earlier, she was attacked by your soldiers and they ripped her dress. Then I came to help her but they wanted to do the same thing to me".

Well, it helped. He wasn't looking at the poor girl anymore but gifted the short-haired captain with a curious look.

"So, and who have saved you then?"

Miriallia looked at her savior inquiring. She didn't understand what the mysterious girl wanted to say.

Luna understood that she couldn't stand out from the crowed as it was too dangerous for her mission, so she decided to pretend being a weak and fragile girl. All in all, she decided to pretend being a woman. She looked at the ground and said in a very sweet and at the same time trembling voice.

"When there was no hope for us, a Prince came and rescued us! He gave me his cloak because I was naked".

That was true. According to Prince's reaction, she indeed could be called naked. Just remember the word that he described her at their first meeting. Would you be happy to hear such characterization of yourself from a handsome young man, a Prince none the less!

She didn't like to lie but there was no choice. She had to hide her identity now. And that was the only way. Hawke was really very sorry for not giving the cloak to a girl who needed it the most at that time, but at the moment it was impossible due to the presence of a certain person.

Miriallia looked at the girl with surprise written all over her face. And the nobleman's cheeks flushed a bright red after the last phrase. But he summoned all his willpower and after clearing his throat, said:

"A Prince? But there are no princes in this area. The nearest Kingdom who has an heir is ORB, but it has a matriarchy, what means that The Queen Cagalli is the ruler of the Kingdom. And I don't think that it was Prince Kira, her twin brother, because he is engaged to Queen Lacus of PLANT Kingdom and is living there at the moment. And the less of all I think about King Athrun of ORB as he won't dare to disobey his wife Queen Cagalli and leave the castle's walls, knowing that our Kingdoms are on the stadia of war".

The blond man ended his hard conclusions and looked at the girls who were watching him like he was an alien or something. No really, if Luna was afraid to reveal her true identity, that guy told everything about the political situation between the kingdoms, not to mention that he told the total strangers about personal lives of the monarchs.

On the other hand, Miriallia, who had been living here from her childhood, heard the names of the rulers of the neighbor kingdoms for the first time in her life. She even learnt who was engaged and who was already married. And all that information came in the blink of an eye.

What concerned the captain of the military forces the most was the last sentence.

"A war?" she whispered with her cold lips. The word made her body tense.

The man noticed what stupor he had made the girls to come into, and hurried to change the topic.

"But it's not women's job to think of. Please," he jumped from the horse and walked to a suddenly blushing girl with long silky hair. By looking at her red face he couldn't but smile. He took off his black cloak and wrapped the girl's fragile form in it. Her body tensed under his actions and she hid her eyes with an auburn forelock. "Take this. As the leader of my squad, I'm awfully sorry for what my men have done. I beg you a pardon, miss".

With those words he bowed to her. She was very confused and couldn't say a word.

"My name is Baron Dearka Elsman. May I know you name, beautiful miss?"

"I'm Miriallia Haw," she answered shyly.

The Baron smiled gently.

"You have a very beautiful name, Miriallia. Tell me, why do you want to go to the castle? Maybe I can help you? I was just heading there before I met you here".

The girl took a deep breath than closed her eyes and began to speak:

"I wanted to see my fiancé. He was taken by the guard as every single man in our village to work at the mines and pits of the Kingdom. I haven't seen him for 2 long years. I want to know if he is alright. I miss him so much. We were going to get married the next day but they took him from me right before the wedding".

The Baron watched as the girl in front of him was clutching the fabric of his expensive cloak and loosing hot tears. He couldn't stand seeing women's tears. The view was too heartbreaking for his young heart.

"Don't cry, beauty. I, the Baron Elsman, the 3d of the Elsmans, will find him and organize a meeting for both of you. Just tell me his name".

"His name is Tolle. Tolle Koenig. Will you really do it, sir?" Her eyelids were a little puffy from the tears but her blue eyes glittered with hope as she looked at him.

And her look spread the pleasant and warm feeling inside him.

"A word of honor!" He said solemnly. "I will do it. You will meet him. Just give me 2 days. And then come to the river bank at the southern part of the forest in 2 days at dawn. You will find him there".

With those words he climbed his horse and sat on its back gracefully.

"Well, pretty ladies, I have to go now. It was really nice to meet both of you".

"Wait!" asked Miriallia catching his attention. "How will I give it back?" she pointed at the cloak she was wrapped in.

He gave her a gentle smile.

"When we meet next time, beauty," after saying that he bent over to take her small hand in his and kissed it. The gentle contact made her cheeks flush.

"Take care!" the Baron said and straightened himself. He send a nod to Luna and then rode away, disappearing in the rays of an orange sunset, and leaving two girls standing on the ground, each in a deep thought.

OooooO


	4. Chapter 4

Sleeping Handsome

Chapter 4

When Baron Elsman rode away, the two girls just looked at each other and blinked.

"He is a very interesting person. He left two unprotected girls in the middle of nowhere, just to find your fiancé, Miriallia," said Lunamaria with a smile. The other girl just blushed.

"I want to thank you again, miss. You saved me. But I don't understand; why did you tell him that it was some prince who rescued us?"

The captain looked at the girl in front of her. She was just a drawler of the village, and couldn't bring any danger, right? Luna thought that she could open her identity to her. She took off her red cloak and revealed her summer dress.

The shocked expression on Miriallia's face meant that it was time for an explanation.

"I came from far-far away and I couldn't let those guardians see me in this." Luna pointed at her clothes.

"But it's an underwear!" said the auburn-haired girl a little too loud necessary. "Do women from your country wear it as an ordinary outfit?"

Luna sweat-dropped.

"Yes...you could say that."

"If you want I can give you some of my clothes. I live not far from here. And I would really like to thank you for your help. So, clothes and some hot food is the least I can offer you."

"Thank you!" said Lunamaria. "I think I will accept your offer."

They headed to the bushes where a corner could be cut through the forest.

"_By the way, where is he?"_ Luna thought, just as she rounded the corner and saw a body lying on a soft green grass behind the bushes.

"Oh my!" cried Miriallia, looking at the unconscious boy. "Is he dead?"

Luna was shocked to see the Prince in that state. She rushed to him and knelt beside the arrogant royal heir. The next thing she did was press her ear to his chest. To her happiness and relief his heartbeat was normal and his breathing was steady. The girl straightened herself and looked at the boy's handsome face. It was pale. He didn't _look_ like he was sleeping. His state and the position he lay in told that he fainted for sure.

"Is he alright?" asked Miriallia nervously.

"I don't think so," answered Luna, getting up from her knees. "I told him to wait. Why couldn't he just do what he was told?" The girl was upset and furious at the same time. She couldn't stand seeing him sleeping again. It was too much for her at the same day.

Miriallia who was watching the mysterious girl's actions summoned all her braveness and dared to ask:

"Is he your husband? You seem to care about him so much…"

The shocked expression on Luna's red face told that the answer was opposite.

"I…what...never in my life!" she sputtered.

"Then, who is he?" demanded the other girl. "Do you know him?"

Hawke spoke without any other thought.

"He is the prince who saved us from those men."

Now it was Miriallia's turn to look at Luna like she had 4 heads.

"But he is unconscious," the blue-eyed beauty pointed out. "And it was _you_ who saved me".

"It's a long story" Luna interrupted her, kneeling beside the boy again. "Help me to get him up. We need to take him to a doctor. Do you have a doctor in your village?"

"Yes. My grandmother is very good in plants. I think she can help," answered the other girl. She took one of the boy's arms and put it around her shoulder.

With great effort they managed to get the Prince up on his feet. Both girls tried their hardest to reach the village as soon as possible. The carriage was heavy, but they didn't complain. Luna told Miriallia that she met the prince at an abandoned castle and ended up travelling with him as he promised her to show the direction to the nearest village. Then they heard someone's squall and tried to find the person who needed help.

"I see," whispered the auburn-haired girl.

They walked through the forest passing by giant ancient trees. When they reached the cliff, Luna saw a view of a village down the hill.

"This is the place where I live. Let's hurry up before it gets dark." Miriallia pointed to their destination, and both girls headed down the cliff.

OooooO

"Where am I?"

When he opened his ruby-coloured eyes he couldn't understand where he was. He found himself lying on something soft and there was a ceiling above him. When he tried to sit up, there was a sudden unfamiliar woman's voice.

"I advise you to keep your strength, young man. Better lie down and take some more rest."

The Prince looked at the direction the voice was coming from. He saw an old woman with kind and gentle face, she came closer to him and handed a bowl of warm, delicious smelling food.

"You must be famished. Please, eat some."

His stomach growled when he inhaled the aroma of hot rice and fried fish. The boy's cheeks turned pink because of the embarrassment his stomach had put him in.

"What happened to me? And why am I here?" asked Prince Shinn taking the offered food from the woman's hands.

"Please, eat. Don't be shy," she smiled kindly at him. "I will answer as many questions as I can. As far as I can see, you fainted because of hunger and exhaustion. My granddaughter and a young miss had found you lying on the ground in the bushes. The young miss was really worried about you when they brought you here."

"You speak about the woman with short magenta-coloured hair?" he asked, taking another bite of the fish.

"Oh, here they are!" exclaimed the old woman happily when she noticed two girls entering the room.

"Prince!" cried Luna looking at the eating boy. "You're finally awake! How are you feeling?"

"_She looks a little different than before"_ he noticed mentally. Now she was dressed in a dark blue dress with long sleeves and yellow ornaments on the ends of each hemmed sleeve. Her hair was long now and reached her low back easily. But how could her hair grow that much in a short period of time? Was it magic?

He couldn't take his eyes away from the beauty in front of him. She looked different. She looked beautiful, no, she looked _gorgeous_! The most beautiful princesses and noble ladies could not be compared with the mysterious girl with such unusual colour of her silky straight hair. The dress suited her so perfectly that she looked so fragile and feminine in it. The realization made him feel the warmth spreading inside and outside of his body.

She placed her cool palm on his soft cheek. That kind of a contact sent shivers down his spine. He immediately jerked his face away from the girl's hand. Luna sighed tiredly. Why was he so jumpy?

"I'm perfectly fine! You better tell me what I am doing here!" his voice once again was filled with arrogance; making Luna really mad. Oh, how she wanted to teach him some good manners!

"I see that his Highness is safe and sound," she began, trying her best to sound calm. "As an answer to your question…"

"I have already told him about how he lost consciousness," the old woman interrupted.

"She saved my life from those guardians," said Miriallia, putting some clothes on the bed beside the boy. "We found you when we headed to the village. You lay unmoving in the bushes. I thought you were dead back there, but Miss Luna checked your heartbeat and said that you were alive. So, we took you and brought you here."

He listened to everything Miriallia said but he couldn't bring himself to understand one thing.

"_You_ saved _her_?!" he looked at Lunamaria strangely and pointed at the other girl.

"Why are you so surprised?" asked Hawke. "I told you that I can deal with such things. And it's not my fault that you lost your consciousness before even starting to watch my rescue operation!"

"I will never believe it! You are a woman! Don't interfere with a men's job!"

"Please don't quarrel!" pleaded Miriallia when she noticed the expressions on their faces.

"Yes, children," said the old woman. "There is no need to get angry. Miss Luna saved my granddaughter and I'm very thankful for her help. And you, young man, must be also grateful because if not for the girl's help, you still would have laid there all alone in the woods. So, you'd better thank her and ask for forgiveness."

"What?" the Prince's eyes widened.

"It's not important, anyway," whispered Luna before standing up and heading to the door. But she froze when Miriallia's grandmother asked a very interesting question.

"Miss Lunamaria calls you a prince. Why?"

Shinn looked at the woman with mild interest and said:

"Because I am one. I can't see the reason why you need to ask."

"I'm asking you this because there are not so many princes in this Kingdom. What is your full name?"

"I'm Prince Shinn Asuka of Zaft Kingdom." He spoke slowly.

"It can't be!" cried the woman.

The Prince blinked several times in a total surprise before he asked:

"What do you mean, it can't be? Can't be what?"

"How old are you?" she insisted.

Now he didn't understand anything. He really tried hard, but he couldn't find any strength to understand the woman's motivation of all those silly questions.

"I turned eighteen and last week I was privileged to help my father to rule the Kingdom," he answered with honor in his boyish voice.

"But it can't be true…" the woman whispered with her cold lips. "Prince Shinn lived a long time ago and was killed by a wild animal in the forest."

"Grandmother, what are you talking about?" now it was Miriallia's turn to look surprised.

The woman stood up and entered the other room. She came back with a little wooden board some minutes later. She showed it to the Prince.

"It's my family..." he said still not understanding the situation.

"This portrait was drawn more than 150 years ago."

"_What!?_" the royal heir cried out.

"My great-grandmother was a nanny to Princess Mayu. Do you remember her name?" asked the woman with tears shining in her eyes.

Shinn thought hard to remember. "My sister's nanny's name was...Murrue Ramius."

"Yes. She lived 150 years ago. You're really Prince Shinn! You look exactly like that in the portrait. But how? The legend tells that you were killed by a wild animal. How did you survive?"

He was shocked. He didn't know what was happening.

"What going on? Who said I was killed? What happened to my family? Where am I?" he questioned frantically.

"Please, calm down."

Luna was shocked as well. She heard everything and she couldn't understand what happened to the Prince. It couldn't be that he had been sleeping for 150 years and her kiss brought him back to life!

"_Life is not a fairytale,"_ she told herself mentally.

"If you're really Prince Shinn, than your parents died many years ago as well as your sister. Zaft Kingdom is ruled by a vicious and evil king named Jibril.

He was silent. Luna turned her head to look at him. He was sitting on the bad with his head low. She couldn't see his face. It was covered with thick bangs of his raven hair. Suddenly a small laugh filled the room, which got louder and more hysteric each time. The Prince was laughing uncontrollably. He fell on his back and continued laughing. The females were worried. They didn't know what to do to calm him down. Luna felt his misery and pain and rushed to his side.

"Please, bring me some water and my bag," she asked the two other women. They understood and left immediately.

"Prince Shinn," she called gently.

He continued laughing hysterically until his laughs changed into sobs. The boy rolled on his side, clutching the sheets in his fists, and he cried out a silent cry of pain, loneliness, angriness, misery and hopelessness. His eyes were shut but hot tears were rolling down his handsome face.

Luna's heart ached. She couldn't bear to see the way he suffered from losing his family. She knew that feeling. Her father was announced as MIA (Missed in Action) and he never came home after that. That's why she joined the army and continued the business of her father's life. He was struggling for peace and she wanted to continue his dream.

"Prince Shinn," she whispered one more time before lying beside him and hugging him. To her great surprise he wrapped his arms around her and pressed her small frame to him firmly. His wet face was buried in her shoulder. He was crying and murmuring. His moans could be heard through frequent sniffs. Even when they say that men don't cry, she couldn't agree with that statement. The boy was only 18, and losing family in a blink of an eye is something awful that couldn't be compared with any other situation.

"Shh…calm down. I'm here…for you, you're not alone.." was all she managed to say in spite of the tears that filled her own eyes.

After some period of time his sobs quieted. His tense position loosened. Once in a while he sniffed but it was nothing comparing with the situation a little while ago. She could tell by his now steady breathing that he cried himself to sleep.

Luna stroked his hair one more time before trying to stand up carefully so that he wouldn't wake, but the firm grip on her waist and back stopped her. Every time she tried to slip from his embrace she ended up being pressed to him with more strength.

"_He is asleep!"_ she thought. _"Where does he get that strength? Well, I have no other choice but to stay here until he wakes up."_

Two hours had passed when Luna felt a body shift beside her. She didn't notice how she fell asleep but it was very warm and calming lying like that. She slowly opened her eyes to meet two shocked ruby orbs. The prince stared at her face and a deep scarlet blush coloured his cheeks. Their faces were barely touching. He could feel her lightly moving chest against his own as she breathed. How did they end up in such position anyway?

"Are you feeling better?" was her gentle question.

Only now he felt a terrible headache. But it wasn't important. The main question that was dancing in his mind was:

"What are you doing in my bed?!?"

She was surprised to hear that but this time his stupid question didn't hurt her pride. She just looked at him with gentle lavender eyes and hugged his Highness with relief.

"I'm glad that you're alright now."

He could answer nothing. He was too shocked by her gesture of kindness. He didn't know why but he felt an urge to hug her back, but his impulse was interrupted by her words.

"Now…if you'll allow me, I'd like to stand up and stretch a little. I think I fell asleep. Could you please let me go now?"

The Prince looked at her in confusion, trying to understand the meaning of her words. He glanced down and noticed that it wasn't only her who was hugging him. His own arms were wrapped around her slim figure protectively. No one could come in or come out through those arms.

"_That means that it is me who is holding her! Now I remember…I heard some harsh news and…and…"_

_S_uddenly she felt his body tensed. Luna looked at his face and saw that his eyes were widened and emotionless. Tears were forming in the corners of his mysterious orbs. Not letting another hysterics happen, she slapped his cheek with all her strength as her position allowed at that moment. He cried out in pain and grabbed his red burning cheek. Luna took the advantage of the situation and stood up quickly.

"How dare you do that to a royal heir!" he exclaimed angrily standing up and approaching her.

"Listen, I don't want you to lose your mind. Please, get a grip on yourself. We are not in the best situation right now. Someone had put you to sleep for 150 years and your Kingdom is in danger now. Miriallia told me that every man from every village had been taken and forced to work in the mines. You need to find out what happened!"

"But what can I do all by myself?" he said and looked down. His next words could barely be heard. "If only my father was here. I'm so useless."

Luna sympathized for him. She didn't know how it felt to wake up and learn that you had been sleeping for more than a century and you didn't belong to the world you lived in anymore, but she could feel his pain and despair. Her hand lay on his firm shoulder.

"You are not alone, prince! I will help you. We will win this war! It's my duty to help and protect innocent people."

He looked up at her curiously.

"Who are you?"

"I…"

Was it safe to open her identity? If she told him who she really was there might be a possibility that she would have big problems later. But--

"Oh, you two are awake already!" said Miriallia entering the room. "I didn't want to disturb you earlier. When I came in with a glass of water, you two were already hugging each other, so I thought…" she paused and looked at them. "What? Why are you looking at me like that? And why are you both so red?"

"I-it's nothing…" Luna mumbled before trying to change the topic. "So, where is your granny?"

"Oh, she went to visit an old woman in our village. She is ill and granny takes care of her."

"I see…"

"Are you two hungry?" asked the girl with wide smile. "I prepared some food. Would you like to eat?"

"I guess…" said Hawke

And the three of them went to the kitchen.

OooooO

Miriallia answered all the questions. King Jibril wanted to start a war with Orb Kingdom. But Orb Kingdom and PLANT Kingdom got united so the war had been put off for a while.

"We lived a normal life and paid big taxes but two years ago King Jibril ordered to take all men from all the villages. We don't know what happened. Everything turned upside down."

"I have to stop him!" cried Luna and the Prince at the same time, hitting the table with their fists.

"Don't interfere!" he told her. "You can't do anything! And you don't know how cruel a war can be!"

Well, now he caught her very pride. A pride of a soldier!

"I don't know what a war is? _Excuse_ me! I know it better than you!"

"Oh, please, don't quarrel again," pleaded Miriallia, rolling her eyes.

"Explain than…you're a wanderer, and a woman at that. You have nothing to do with our problems. You don't belong to our Kingdom anyway. Why do you want to stop the king?" the royal heir asked not even noticing the auburn-haired girl's words.

"I have my own reasons. So, like it or not, but I will be helping you from now on, because I need to make sure that the Jibril we are talking about is the same man that I want to stop!"

His Highness gritted his straight white teeth and growled.

"Alright! But you're a woman! So, from now on I will be protecting you. Like it or not, but you have no other choice but to obey me!" A sly grin touched his perfect lips.

"What?!" gasped Luna. "I'm not your maid. I can take care of myself!"

"Guys…" Miriallia started.

"_What?!_" Luna and the Prince turned their heads and asked a little too loud. Miriallia slowly stepped away.

"Are you sure that you're not married? You act like my Aunty Talia and Uncle Gilbert."

"Never in my life will I marry such a stubborn and poor behaved woman!"

"Don't think too high of yourself your Highness! I'd rather marry a frog than you!"

Nobody could tell when their little fight would end if not for Miriallia's grandmother's arrival.

"Oh, I see they couldn't share something again.."

"Grandmother, please stop them! They don't listen to me just keep on arguing and calling each other names," pleaded a scared girl.

Well, with the help of an adult the peace was repaired again.

OooooO

Two days had passed. Miriallia was waiting for the dear meeting with her beloved. She was so excited about it. At last she would be able to see Tolle's face again. It was hard to believe. Two years of separating and finally the night of reunion.

The girl wore the finest dress that she had and was ready to go.

"Do you want me to come with you?" asked Luna who couldn't bring herself to sleep that night as well. She had a recurrent argue with a certain person. And now she felt a terrible headache.

"No, thank you," said the girl. "I will be fine, it's not far from here".

"Take care! I feel really happy for you. I wish I could meet my father again," whispered the magenta-haired girl. But the other female didn't hear those words.

OooooO

And finally the dawn came. She rushed through the forest to reach the place where her beloved was waiting for her.

Closer…

Closer…

Just a little bit more…

And then she saw a silhouette of a man. The first sun rays threw light on his figure.

"Tolle!" she cried.

The man turned to face her only to meet a surprised gaze of sky-blue eyes.

"Young miss," he began but she interrupted him.

"You are not Tolle. Where is he?" she looked around her but couldn't see anybody else.

"Please, I need to tell you something. Listen to me, Miss Miriallia," his eyes were filled with sorrow. He made two steps closer to her. "As I have promised you, I found your fiancé. I'm really sorry to tell you this but he passed away 1 year ago. He fell sick and died two weeks later because of a fever. Before his death he gave this to one villager so that if he ever gained freedom again, someday he would give it to you." with those words the tanned man outstretched his arm. There was a little silver ring on his palm. Miriallia took it in her hands and stared at it for a while. Hot tears began rolling down her pale cheeks.

"_TOLLE!!_" she cried. Her body began shaking as hard sobs escaped her mouth.

He couldn't see the girl like that. He felt really sorry for her loss. He didn't notice how, but his arms had already found their place around the girl's small frame. Even as Baron, this was the one time that his name couldn't help.

"I don't know what's going on," he said desperately. "But I promise to find the truth why people die in mines and why they suffer so much."

She heard his words but couldn't bring herself to answer. The only thing that she felt right now was an unbearable pain and emptiness inside.

"Thank you," was all she managed to whisper in his broad chest.

OooooO

"Yzak!"

"What do you want, Elsman? Can't you see that I'm busy right now?" answered a platinum-haired tall man.

"We need to talk," the Baron demanded. Then he turned his face to the beautiful girl and bowed to her. "Forgive my rudeness, Countess. I did not notice your presence"

"Cut out the formalities, Sir Dearka. We are not at a ball," she showed a beautiful smile of her pink lips. "We've known each other since we were children."

"Thank you, Lady Shiho. May I talk to your fiancé?"

"As you wish."

"Thank you," the Baron smiled and bowed again.

The girl went out of the room.

"What do you want, Dearka? Don't you know how hard it is to find the right words to start a conversation with her?" said a depressed man, sitting down in the armchair.

"I really can't understand what your problem is, Yzak. Shiho is an easygoing and friendly type of a woman. Why are you so tensed around her? She is your fiancée!" the blond man came closer to his friend and sat opposite him.

"She is easygoing with you because you two are like brother and sister. I've known her only for 2 months!" cried Yzak.

"This is your problem, Earl Joule. You don't want to know her better…"

Dearka was interrupted by his friend's sudden outburst.

"I was _trying_ to know her better when you came and spoiled the moment!"

"Calm down…I'm sure there will be plenty of chances to introduce yourself to Countess Hahnenfuss."

"We have been already introduced to each other," was the gloomy answer. The blond only rolled his eyes.

"Yzak, there is something I need to discuss." Elsman's tone became serious. "Lately, I've faced some problems. I was a witness of a crime. Our soldiers attacked a young girl on the empty rode and wanted to do bad things to her. Then I found out that people in the mines and pits are dying every day from different illnesses. Today I was at the King's. I asked him why such accidents happen but he just smiled and told me not to stick my nose in business that doesn't concern me."

"So, what do you want from me?" asked the other man tiredly.

"You are a general of our army. You must know better than anyone that with such amount of soldiers as we have now, we will lose the war. Innocent people die every day and the army is poor! What does his Majesty think about?! We have to find out what's going on!"

"Is that all you wanted to tell me?" the Earl stood up and looked at the window.

"Why are you so indifferent?" Dearka stood up too. "Our Kingdom is in danger! Do you remember the history of Zaft? It was a great and glorious Kingdom with strong army and patriotic drawlers. The main morals of the Kingdom were justice and virtue. That's why our forefathers lived happily. Look at what we have now! People suffer…"

"Enough!" commanded Yzak facing the Baron. "It was long ago. Nowadays there is no Asuka dynasty. We must save what we have now and not look back at the past. If King Jibril decided to break out a war than we must obey him. Because he is a King and we are his servants".

Baron Elsman looked at the man with pity.

"I thought you wanted a family…Please, think about our future-if there is any future for us."

The Baron bowed to the man and left the room.

"You are leaving so early?" she met him in a long corridor.

"Yes, milady, I have a lot of work to do," he said slowing down his pace.

"What's wrong, Dearka? You look upset."

"Your dress is very beautiful but it can't be compared with your stunning beauty, Shiho." he smiled.

"Don't try to skip the answer. You know that I'm not that stupid to fall for your compliments."

Well, a Countess was a Countess. She knew him too well.

"I don't know what to do, Shiho," he lowered his head. "I feel that something is wrong but I can't find the proof. I thought that your fiancé would help me, but he doesn't want to listen. We are on the edge of war but the discipline in the army is very poor. I can't guarantee that there is no possibility of traitors among the soldiers."

She listened to his every word very attentively.

"Dearka, I know you as well as myself. If you say that something is not right, I believe you. Don't give up! Try to find out the source of the problem. I will do everything that is in my power to help you."

The young man smiled again.

"Thank you, dear Shiho."

OooooO

"Earl Joule!" she walked into the room and approached an attractive young man with platinum hair who stood near the window deep in thought.

"How was your talk?" she asked. The sweet scent of her perfume made him turn his head and look at her beautiful face. He could feel his cheeks flush.

"You have nothing to worry about, milady. We discussed some politics." He said calmly.

"Tell me the truth, Earl. Baron Elsman was disappointed after he left this room," she insisted.

"You don't have to worry. Everything is under control," was his firm answer.

But it didn't satisfy the Countess.

"Dearka told me that you have problems with your army. We are on the edge of war. If you say everything is under control than I'd like to know the details."

"It's not necessary for you to know," he answered aggressively.

"I'm your fiancée and a future mother of your heirs! I have all rights to know!" she was inexorable.

He ignored her demand and turned his face back to the window.

"Good. If his Honour doesn't want to talk to me than let him know that I don't want to become a widow because of this war and mostly because of the fact that his soldiers will not protect their general". With those words she took off the ring from her wedding finger and gave it to him.

"Wait, Countess! What does it mean?" asked the Earl with widened eyes.

"It means exactly the same as you think it means."

"But you cannot! We are engaged!"

"If you don't change your attitude towards me and continue having secrets from me than I will break our engagement." She was serious. Her eyes were warning him not to joke around with her.

He was furious inside. Never in his life was he so humiliated. And by whom? By a woman! His pride had been wounded.

"Well, if you have nothing to say, I'll be going than," after those words the dark-haired beauty exited the room leaving a mad Earl alone with his thoughts.

OooooO

"Don't hold me so tight! It's hard to breathe, you know!"

She wasn't afraid, she was just nervous. She liked horses, they were very good and kind animals, but she had never rode a horse in her live! It felt frightening to sit on the back of an animal and feel it's every move under yourself. Luna wrapped her arms around the first thing she had found to keep the balance. And that thing was the Prince's very torso.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?" he arched his elegant dark eyebrow as he asked and glanced at the girl behind him.

"Never," was her timid answer.

The boy exhaled. Well, alright. He was on the horse's back with a girl who had never ridden a horse in her life and who could suffocate him to death if she squeeze her hands a little more.

"Get off!" he said firmly.

"What for?" she didn't understand.

"I told you to get off!" repeated the Prince of Zaft.

The girl jumped from the horse's back down on the ground.

"Now climb up again!" he ordered.

"You're joking, right? Why did you tell me to get off when it was not necessary?"

"It _was_ necessary. If you don't hurry I will go without you," was an arrogant answer.

"Argh!" roared the girl and began climbing the animal. But to her surprise she was taken on the seat by the Prince. He took her under her arms and sat the girl in front of himself.

"Prince Shinn," she said quietly.

He didn't answer or look at her. His face felt warm but he tried his best to ignore the feeling. The horse slowly began to move. It was a good idea to sit like that. Now Luna wasn't so afraid to fall. She felt a protective aura coming from the boy.

They rode to the Zaft Kingdom. The main goal of the trip was investigation.

"You know, you look really good in these clothes, your Highness," said Luna and giggled.

He was dressed in common clothes of a common commoner from a common village.

"If it was not for a camouflage, I'd rather wear a girl's dress," he answered, sounding depressed.

"Oh, really?" laughed Luna.

"Stop laughing at a royal heir!" he said proudly.

"I'm not, your Highness! By the way, if we are spies now I will call you just by your name. And you can call me Luna."

The boy rolled his eyes.

"Shinn."

His eyebrow twitched as he heard how she called him so informally.

"May I ask you a question? Why do your eyes have such a strange dark-red colour?"

Well, he decided to skip the explanation of how rude it was not to wait for an answer from him to her first question before asking her second question.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked indifferently.

"I have never seen such colour of eyes in my life," she explained.

"It is a pride of our family. Whenever a boy is born in our dynasty, if he has ruby-coloured eyes it means that he has a mysterious power".

"And you also have it?"

"I must have it but I don't know what kind of power it is. When I was a child my father told me that my grandfather had the same eye colour as I. He could travel through times. I don't really understand what it means. But as I was told, he brought a wife from there—my grandmother. Father also had told me that I would possess the power at my 18th birthday. It was a week ago…or 150 years and a week ago if to be correct. But I don't feel anything unusual about myself..."

"Maybe you will know it later," she tried to cheer him up.

"Who knows," he breathed.

"Surrender!" a command from out of nowhere was yelled. They both looked around and saw three soldiers with their blades pointed at them.

"Oh great!" whispered Shinn through gritted teeth. "It is your fault that we have been noticed!"

"_WHAT!?_" said Luna in disbelief. "How come it's my fault? If you paid attention everything would have been fine!"

"If you didn't distract me with your stupid questions nothing would have happened!" he yelled at her.

"Oh, really?!" The girl turned herself on horse's back and now she was facing him. "Than if you're so smart then why did you answer them at the first place?!?"

"I…" he began but couldn't find the right words to object. He inhaled and answered angrily. "Just close your mouth, woman!"

Her eyes widened from shock and fury.

"What did you say!?!" she yelled. "Better take your words back or you will regret it!"

"Ha!" he smirked crossing his arms on his chest. "Like I will…"

"We ordered you to surrender!" repeated the soldier surprised by their actions and total ignorance.

"Alright!" roared an angry captain. "Then you asked for it!" And she punched him at the stomach. Well, it was really hard to do due to the position she sat in. As Luna finished her punishment she felt as she began losing her balance. To prevent herself from falling down Hawke grabbed the first thing she had found. It was the Prince's neck. He bowed a little because of her punch and now there was a good access to his head.

He felt like he had been pulled down with great force. But unfortunately he didn't hold the reins at that moment and everything ended up with him losing his balance as well. Now it was his turn to found something to hold on to. His arms wrapped around something soft before he fell from the horse.

There was a loud thud as two bodies hit the ground. Luna cried out in pain when her back met a hard surface and something heavy pressed her to it. She couldn't breathe. Her head was spinning and she felt dizzy.

Suddenly she had been rolled by some mysterious powers and then she felt like she was lying on something firm but quite soft and….it was moving, and moaning!

The girl opened her eyes immediately and met an angry gaze of two wine-coloured eyes.

"You could kill us!" he shouted with fury.

"I'm…I'm sorry" was a bare whisper. She was so frightened by what had just happened. She didn't even notice that her hands were still wrapped around his neck. And he didn't paid attention that his arms were still lying on her back pressing her to him protectively.

"Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?" she asked worriedly.

"Stupid! It must be me who should ask you such questions! I fell on you! Do you know how dangerous it was for you? You're so careless!" he continued shouting at her.

She felt guilty. Luna understood that it was her fault that they ended up like that. But her thoughts were interrupted.

"You're under arrest!"

They heard a voice. Oh…how could they forget about the soldiers!

"Excuse us please. We are just villagers. We came here to see the King," Luna tried to explain not standing up from the Prince's body.

"We will see who you really are when we take you to the colonel,"

"But…"

The Prince just sighed heavily. He rolled to the side and laid her on the ground carefully. Then he stood up and outstretched his hand towards the girl. She appreciated his gesture of help and gave him her small hand. With his help she stood up slowly.

"Alright! Now take us to where you wanted to!" ordered the Prince.

The guardians lost their speech-gift. They were totally surprised by that villager's intonation.

"How dare you order us around!" shouted the soldier.

The royal heir rolled his beautiful eyes not for the first time that day and shook his head.

"What a discipline in the army nowadays," he sighed and said ironically.

"Repeat what you said!"

"I said," the handsome boy began proudly, "That the discipline in the army is below zero."

Luna looked at the scene in shock. Oh, why did he spoil the moment!!

"_It's all because of his arrogance!"_ she thought.

"You will regret those words, commoner!" shouted the soldier before rushing to the boy with his blade.

Prince was ready to reflect the attack. He grabbed the hilt of his sword that was hidden under the cloak.

But the punishment never happened. A loud sound disturbed the moment. It was a gunshot. Luna recognized the sound.

"What is going on here?" asked the voice with a commanding tone.

"C-colonel!" the soldier was surprised to see the leader whose gun-blade was drawn.

The colonel's lavender eyes held a stern gaze. He looked at everyone. The girl with long magenta hair caught his attention. He saw her before but her hair was not that long as it was now.

"Sir, we stopped two villagers who planned to cross the borders and reach the palace," said another soldier.

"I see. I will take care of them. You're dismissed."

"But sir…"

"I said it's not your business now. Or are you trying to disobey my orders?" his light eyebrow arched.

"N-no, sir! Not at all!"

And they got lost.

"Now-now, pretty lady. We meet again" he said with a sly smile.

"My salutations, Baron Elsman!" she smiled back with a bow.

"Now, will you tell me why did you want to reach the castle?"

"Well…we…" she stuttered

"We wanted to meet the King" said the Prince, stepping forward.

"Hmm…and who are you then?" the lavender eyes met ruby orbs in a fight.

"I'm Pr-"

But Luna quickly covered his mouth with her palm.

"He is my older brother!" she smiled sheepishly.

"An older...brother?" he questioned suspiciously.

"Yes...just my brother."

"Then why do you look so different?" The Baron continued his questions.

"It's…it's because he is my step-brother. We have different fathers," she continued to lie without even blinking.

The Prince rolled his eyes. He took away her hand from his mouth and asked the guy on a horse.

"Why do you interrogate her?!"

"Haha…it's my duty to know everything. By the way, what are you doing here when all men from the villages had been taken to work in the mines and pits?"

"He didn't pass!" cried out Luna.

"Huh?" the Baron surprised to hear that.

"He has a crippled foot, that's why he didn't pass the standards…" her head was spinning because of all those lies she had told already.

"_WHAT?_" asked both young men looking at her in total astonishment.

"I think you're lying to me, beauty," the tan-skinned man said firmly. "Better tell me the truth or I will arrest both of you."

She sighed in despair.

"I'm Prince Shinn of Zaft Kingdom. The 15th of the Asuka dynasty."

Luna looked up at him with disbelief in her eyes.

"Prince…" she whispered.

"You must be joking. Do you know how long ago the Asuka lived?" said Baron Elsman.

"Yes," he looked at him with a challenge in his own mysterious eyes "it was 150 years ago. So, you must be proud to see the royal heir with your own eyes."

"A diversion?" asked the blond man no one in particular. _"_He wants to kill our King Jebril and gain the throne_," _he was reasoned with himself. A glint of suspicion showed in his eyes. Then he looked at the boy and said:

"Don't try to fool me, young man! And you, miss, do you help him in his dirty plans?" he arched his eyebrow again.

"No," she answered firmly. "I'm helping his Highness to return what belongs to him back. This is his right as an heir of the Asuka dynasty".

"Well-well…" Dearka rubbed his chin deep in thought. "I'd really like to believe you two, but it's impossible. And I have no other choice but to arrest you as the leaders of a diversion against our King".

"Can you keep secrets?" asked the girl who looked at him with confidence in her violet orbs. "If you promise us that you will not tell anyone, we will show you the proof of our rightness".

He looked at the girl attentively. So did the Prince, who didn't know what was on her mind.

"I know that you're a good person, Baron Elsman," she said. "You helped Miriallia and she is very thankful."

When he heard the girl's name he felt somehow upset.

"How is she?" was all that he asked.

"Time heals but now she can't stop crying," the magenta-haired girl answered sorrowfully.

"I will go with you," he decided finally. "But don't try to do anything stupid. I'm armored and can punish you any moment." was his warning.

OooooO

They rode to the abandoned castle. Luna sat with Baron Elsman. She didn't want to start a new argument with the arrogant royal heir if he didn't like anything.

So, here they were.

"A week ago I found this abandoned castle," said Hawke.

"What is that?!" cried Dearka when he saw a huge rotting body with a foul stench near the castle walls.

"The castle was guarded by the dragon," explained the girl. "I killed it and--"

"You did what?" was a shocked question.

"I don't believe her either," added the Prince, brushing the hair out of his face.

"Believe it or not, but it was me who killed it."

"Oh...do tell, where is the proof?" the Prince asked playfully knowing that there was none.

"If you want to see it so much than look!" she said angrily taking a small ball from her bag.

Both men looked at her actions and understood nothing. They looked at her like she was insane.

Meanwhile, Lunamaria pulled some ring from the ball and threw the ball as far as she could, not to mention as quickly as she could.

"Lie down!!!" she commanded. Of course no one followed her order.

The next moment they heard a loud sound of explosion. And both men didn't notice how they lay down on the ground. When the smoke faded away the Baron and the Prince found that they were alive. They were covered with thick layer of dust and little stones. More than that, the place where they were lying was some meters away from where they had stood before the explosion.

When they looked up they saw that the biggest part of the wall had been destroyed. The two men looked at the girl with wide eyes.

"Alright, I believe you, miss," said the Baron standing up.

The Prince was speechless. He was looking at her like she came from another world. But unfortunately, he didn't have a clue at that moment that he was right.

"So, what was next?" said the blond man.

Luna smiled with triumph and said solemnly:

"I found Prince Shinn in the tower right up there," she pointed at the very upper window of a small tower.

They went inside the castle. Everything remained the same as from the previous visit. It was cold, dark, dusty and scaring. When they walked into the room where she had found the Prince, she showed a bed where he had been sleeping.

"Whatever I did he couldn't wake up," she continued telling.

"Then how did you wake him up?" asked the Baron.

The Prince also wanted to know how she managed to bring him back to life.

But she couldn't tell them the truth. It was so embarrassing even to think about it! A remembrance that her first kiss had been given to that arrogant royal heir made her cheeks burning.

"I poured some water on his face and it worked," was her cheap lie.

She knew that they would never believe her. She knew that there was nothing left to defend herself, when…

"Yes, I remember when I woke up my face, hair and neck were all wet," said the Prince thoughtfully.

She was saved!

"_Oh, Prince! You're awesome!"_ but she stopped those thoughts immediately.

"I see," Dearka sat on the bed and was absorbed with his own thoughts.

The other two also sat on the bed. The three of them sighed in unison.

OooooO

"What happened? Why are you back so early?"

They were met by an auburn-haired girl. Then another tall man entered the room.

"Baron Elsman?!" She cried in surprise.

"I'm happy to see you again, beauty," he smiled sincerely.

Then everything had been discussed. They showed Prince Shinn's clothes, crown, sword, an old portrait of a royal family to Dearka. It was hard to believe in that story but now he was sure that they told him the truth.

Now he had to make a right choice between keeping his loyalty to King Jibril or Prince Shinn from the Asuka dynasty.

-----

A/N Thank you for all your reviews, our dear friends!

!!!This chapter has been beta-read by smrt-cookie20. We are very thankful for her great help!!! Go read her wonderful fanfictions!!!!

We hope, you like our fanfic.

Please, enjoy reading and don't forget to review ^^ It helps us to continue writing.

Always with you,

Kit2000 and Anna


	5. Chapter 5

Sleeping Handsome

A/N Here is the 5th chapter. I hope you will like it as much as I do. Oh, and one more thing. I have edited chapters 1-4 a little. I advise you to look them through as there are some additions to the plot ^^ And don't forget to leave your reviews!!!

One more thing before you start reading ^^ My sis and I drew fanarts for this fanfic. You can find them on our profile page or at dviantart. Our nickname is Kit2000 there. Take a look and leave reviews!

Chapter 5

"Sir Dearka! What a surprise! Who could think that you have electricity supply and hot water!"

She was amazed to find out that an ancient castle had all modern conveniences from her world.

"Huh? There is nothing to be so surprised of. We have had all these things since I was a child".

"_Very interesting_" thought Luna.

Baron Elsman invited Luna and Prince to live at his family castle. He thought that it was safer. Hawke asked him to take Miriallia with them since she was a great help in the past and Luna needed her.

Sir Dearka agreed with great pleasure. If to be honest, he was glad that a sky-blue-eyed beauty would join them. He felt very calm and inspired around her.

Everyone was given a room for a private use. Baron Elsman offered his help to teach the Prince some new disciplines of fencing since lots of them had been improved during 150 years.

Prince Shinn was very excited to learn how to use a mysterious weapon called gunblade. It was very hard to use for the beginner but Baron was a good teacher.

Luna and Miriallia tried to find any kind of useful information in the archives of Sir Dearka's library. Miriallia was an educated girl for a common villager. She could write and read and had a good knowledge of history.

Luna was really happy that the girl agreed to join her. There was another aspect that couldn't skip the captain's curious eyes. Lunamaria noticed that Baron Elsman was very interested in a certain auburn-haired beauty. He showed his noble behavior towards her as if she was some kind of a lady of high society. He didn't let himself to do anything more than a bow, though.

Miriallia felt uneasy when she was treated like that. She was afraid that her heart could fell for a handsome young man with blond hair and lavender eyes. It made her feel confused. She didn't want to betray Tolle and her love for him. And it made her poor heart ache with sorrow.

Baron Elsman could feel her confusion and uncertainty and he tried to help to ease her pain. The noble man loved talking to her and listening to girl's singing. It was very unusual that a common girl could sing that well. The sound of her gentle voice reached his man's heart and Sir Dearka understood one simple thing—the girl had become very special to him in such a short period of time. He wanted to make her happy; wanted to see her smile, her sincere smile; he wanted to listen to her cheerful song filled with her laughter…But all the blond man could do now was listening to a song that was filled with sadness. The young man was unsure whether he needed to make a first step or not. He was afraid to ruin the friendship that they had now. But he understood that she wasn't ready to start a new deep relation. He decided to wait…wait until she would accept his feelings for her.

"_So…that's what they call a Love_" he thought every time she came into a view. Baron promised himself that he would protect her no matter what and someday he would tell the beauty how he felt towards her. Someday…when the time comes…

OooooO

Several days had passed since they arrived at Baron's castle. Luna had tried to find any information about Jibril but all she could find was a standard short biography. The archive didn't tell anything unusual.

She needed to find out if King Jibril was the Jibril who became a chairman in her world. She had a feeling that he wasn't a usual tyrant. But what if her suspicion was right? What should she do then? She was alone in this fantasy world and couldn't inform her division. Did she have a right to operate by herself? In this situation, she felt sorry for poor people who suffered so much. Her honor codex couldn't let her walk past people's sorrow. Even if it didn't concern her own mission, she promised the Prince to help. But it was not just her promise, she felt like she must do it.

Her head felt dizzy. All of those questions and uncertainty in her rightness were dancing in her poor head.

A warm summer rain was pouring outside, banging at the closed windows lightly. The girl smiled. She loved the rain. An idea came to her exhausted mind forming Luna's rosy lips into a smile.

Hawke stood up from a wooden desk, pushed the bottom on the wall and the lights turned off. The room filled with darkness. But the girl didn't mind. She took a walking-stick, that she had found in the corridor the previous day, and a flute. Baron Dearka let her use any musical instrument in his musical room when he was showing his castle. The blond man noticed an interest in her lavender eyes when she looked at the little stick-like object.

"You may have it. It's a gift" he said with an attractive smile on his tanned face.

And she was happy. She loved to play the flute at home but after joining the army she didn't have a chance to practice.

The girl stepped into the crying night in her pink summer-dress, white stocking and snickers. Those clothes were more comfortable for what she was going to do. Warm rain drops kissed her tender skin.

Oh, how she loved the rain! It reminded of her father. He used to take her to their estate garden and teach her the most difficult techniques. As she remembered his lessons, Luna covered her eyes with a blind-band and took a walking-stick in her hands.

She froze in that position for some minutes.

She didn't see anything.

"_Eyes are not the only way to see. You can use your hearing and the sixth sense to feel someone's presence. Remember, Lunamaria, if your eyes can't help you, use your ears. Listen carefully to every sound around you_"

And she listened as her father had always taught her. She could hear a rustle of every tree and plant in the garden. She heard the sound of falling drops on every leaf. She needed to hear one more sound.

Luna stood still. Her hearing was tensed. She tried hard to find the right sound among the millions. And when her ears caught an awaited melody, Luna's hands made a sharp movement. The stick in her hands turned into a blade for a second a sliced a raindrop in half.

The girl didn't see it but she heard and sensed it.

Soon her training became livelier. Her movements repeated more often, and she looked like she was dancing in the rain with a cold blade that was just a walking stick.

OooooO

He couldn't sleep that night.

Baron warned him that his shoulder could hurt for a while after using a gunblade.

But the pain was unbearable! His right shoulder felt numb and it hurt so badly!

Who created that weapon anyway? Months could pass to get used to the returning force. Simple swords were much better to that!

Prince stood up from his bed and approached a balcony door. He looked as millions of raindrops were pouring outside. He didn't like the rain. Somehow it brought misery to his heart. Mayu was afraid of thunder and every time she heard the roaring sound, she ran to her brother's room to find protection. And Shinn didn't complain. As a decent big brother he was, Prince tried to calm her down telling her funny stories or fairytales, if she pleaded him to.

Now he was all alone in this world. There was no his beloved family anymore. He couldn't return to his palace. He didn't belong to this world at all. Everything was too difficult to understand. There were so many new things that he hadn't got a clue how to use. He was a stranger to this time.

"_Why did it happen to me_?" Prince closed his eyes and pressed his forehead to the cold surface of the window. He wanted to cry but couldn't bring himself to. The pain was too much even to let the tears leave his sad ruby eyes.

"What did that woman do to me? Why can't I remember anything?" he said angrily and hit the glass of the window with his right fist. And he suddenly understood that he did the wrong thing.

His right shoulder spasmed and began burning with unbearable pain. The boy gritted his teeth trying not to cry out. He grabbed his shoulder with his other hand and closed his eyes once more, trying to calm an injured arm.

Inhale…

Exhale…

Inhale…

Exhale…

The pain began fading away slowly.

Prince opened his eyes and looked at the window tiredly. He was going to go back to bed and try to get some sleep when something white-coloured caught his attention.

The royal heir looked carefully at the garden, which was right under his balcony, through the wet glass of the window. The next moment he became a witness of a certain magenta-haired girl's beautiful dance. She looked like a swan. Her light coloured clothes made a great contrast with a rainy night and a dark garden. Her movements were smooth and sharp at the same time.

He couldn't take his eyes away from her. Her dance charmed him and he didn't notice how he ended up standing in the rainy night in the centre of the castle's garden.

The rain was wetting his clothes, which he hadn't had a chance to change after an evening practice with a gunblade. His messy hair was soaking wet now and water was rolling down all his face.

He made several steps towards the girl but suddenly stopped on his tracks as he felt a blunt-pointed object aiming to his throat.

OooooO

She was continuing her training when she sensed someone's approaching. Without any hesitation, the captain made a spin and aimed a blow at an intruder. A blind-band was quickly removed from her eyes. The person she was aiming at was…

"Prince Shinn?" she asked surprised.

He looked a little shocked for a moment but then he found some strength to answer.

"Are you trying to kill me?!? What if you have missed?" was his sudden outburst.

She looked at him curiously and took the stick away from his throat.

"I would have not. Better tell me what are you doing here?"

Prince thought for a moment. Why was he there?

"I couldn't fall asleep and decided to take a walk".

Of course he couldn't tell her that he wanted to see her dance a little closer than from the balcony.

"But it's raining" she pointed at the crying sky.

Yes it was indeed raining and she looked gorgeous with her wet hair and clothes.

Clothes…

"You put that on again!" he said with irritation in his boyish voice. "Why don't you wear some beautiful dress? You are a girl after all. How can you dress in something vulgar as that?"

Luna rolled her eyes. Why was he so caring all of sudden?

She turned on her heels and headed to the covered summer-house where she left her stuff. The royal heir followed her. He sat on the bench. She did the same.

"So, what were you doing? It's late, you know" he started a conversation.

Luna surprised. His voice was calm and even friendly. She brushed away some wet hair from her face and neck and looked at him. His eyes had a very beautiful shade of crimson colour in the night. Her lips showed a brief smile.

"I was training" was her simple answer.

His raven eyebrow arched elegantly.

"And what kind of training was that?"

"It was a concentration of attention and hearing, Your Highness. If you know how to do it right, you can defeat an enemy with your eyes closed. My father taught me this technique".

"I wonder how weak your country is that even women take weapon in their hands. It's a great dishonor for your men, who can't protect their ladies" he said arrogantly.

"No, Prince. I have to disagree with you. Women's help is very appreciated in the country I came from. Men are very glad that they have women's support, that women are not afraid to protect people and their loved ones. I am proud that I can fight and help those who can't".

Her voice sounded calm but serious.

He didn't know what to answer. Maybe she was right. Maybe everything had turned upside down during those 150 years. He didn't know.

"Are you alright?" she asked concerned noticing his suddenly saddened face.

"Yes, I am…" he answered slowly lowering his head.

His gaze fell on a silver-coloured stick that lay on the bench next to the girl.

"Is it your flute?" he asked with surprise.

Luna took the object in her hand.

"Yes. Why?"

"Can you play it?"

"Positive".

"Will you play anything?"

She looked at him in the eyes. He looked serious and naïve at the same time. The boy's ruby eyes watched her intensely.

Luna thought that they didn't have a chance to talk earlier. Whenever they started a conversation it would end with them arguing. Now she felt like they could know each other better. He didn't bring that arrogant aura of his with him. He looked a little deserted and confused.

"_I'm sure that he goes through not the best times with this entire story_" the girl thought.

Prince sighed.

"We used to play duet with my sister. She played the piano and I played the violin" he said softly but there was a hidden sadness in his voice.

He didn't look at her. His gaze was concentrated on a single spot in front of him.

"The last time we played together was for our mother's Birthday" and he got silent after those words.

She looked at him from the corner of her eyes. His emotionless face told her that he was carried away with memories.

"I _will_ play for you" she said catching his attention. "But don't criticize me, you heard? I haven't practiced for a long time".

He didn't answer. Luna felt his eyes on her and it made her very shy suddenly.

It was hard to stay calm under his curious gaze.

Luna took the flute in a right position, brought it to her lips and began to play.

The summer house filled with beautiful slow melody. The girl played out her heart's content. She loved that melody and tried to make it sound as beautiful as it should be played.

She glanced at His Highness quickly and met his gaze. It was filled with concern at first, then it changed to surprise, and finally a joy came after.

Luna couldn't understand such changing of his expression until she heard his voice.

"_**~'Cause you'll be in my heart  
Yes, you'll be in my heart  
From this day on  
Now and forever more~**__**" **_

He was singing the chorus of the song she was playing. He had a beautiful voice.

"_Alto_" she noted mentally. The girl was very surprised that he knew the song, but she didn't want to stop playing mostly because she admired his singing so much.

And he continued to sing without a hesitation.

_**When destiny calls you  
You must be strong  
I may not be with you,  
But you got to hold on  
They'll see in time  
I know  
We'll show them together**_

_**  
**_Luna could see happiness in his ruby eyes which were filled with sadness some minutes ago. He looked so boyish now with his shining eyes and wet messy raven hair.

A magenta-haired beauty felt as a pleasant feeling of warmth began spreading inside her body. Her gaze held gentleness when she looked at a certain singing boy.

She wanted to smile but her lips were occupied with the flute.

The last notes had been played, the last words had been sung.

"Where did you know this song?" he asked enthusiastically.

The girl put her musical instrument on her knees and answered.

"My daddy always sang me the song when I was a child. Then I took some flute lessons and learned it myself. And what about you? How come you know this song?"

"My grandmother usually sang it to me when I couldn't fall asleep in my childhood. She sang lots of songs that nobody knew in the palace" he answered with a grin.

Luna thought for a while.

"You told me that your grandfather had brought a wife from another world, right?"

"Well, that's what I was told" he shrugged his shoulders and felt a sharp pain in his right arm. He bit his lower lip and summoned all his willpower not to show any sign of his suffering.

"Could it be that your grandmother brought those songs with her?" the girl rubbed her chin in a deep though. "Do you remember any other songs that she sang to you?"

The Prince kept silent for a while and then began humming famous songs from old Disney's cartoons.

Luna smiled broadly. She knew all those songs. Who didn't anyway?

"Your grandmother was an awesome woman" said the girl smiling.

"Yes, she was. She passed away when I was 8".

"Oh, I'm sorry".

There was a pregnant silence between them for some time. Prince was the one who broke it.

"Tell me about your country. It must be very unusual if to believe your words".

Lunamaria was taken aback a little by his question. He had never tried to know her better. Why did he want to know it all of sudden?

"Well…my country is famous for high technology progress. We have lots of modern conveniences".

"It sounds similar to what we have here now" he said thoughtfully.

Hehe…what could she say to that? He wouldn't see the difference anyway.

"You are right" she agreed.

"Tell me about your father. He must be a very brave and careless person to let his daughter travel all alone".

He really wanted to know her better. It felt much different to talk to a calm and friendly Prince. He didn't build that barrier of arrogance that was so hard to cross. And now she felt like telling him her story.

"My father was a general of the army in our country. He was very busy all the time, but he managed to find some time for me and my little sister. He was a decent father and a good and caring husband for our mother. He always taught me that you can't walk past someone's sorrow. If you feel like you can help than you must do it".

"My father told me the same words" he said quietly.

Luna sighed.

"It means that our parents had lots in common".

They sat in a total silence for some minutes.

"Why do you tell about your father in a past time?"

He couldn't get enough of his curiosity, could he?

"Well, it happened more than a year ago. My father was a commander of Special Forces against a tyrant named Jibril. And one day he disappeared on a mission. He was announced as missed in action. It's not like being dead, but as far as I know, only single people come back home after that announcement".

Her eyes were filled with sadness along with her melodic voice.

He kept silent. He didn't know how to cheer her up. She lost her father too. It meant that they were not such strangers to each other. They had something in common, something that you couldn't be happy about.

"That's why I must know who this King Jibril is. Could it be that he is the same person that had committed lots of bad things in my country?" her voice sounded determinate.

"We have the same goal" he said and looked at his left. "The rain has stopped" the boy noted.

Luna looked outside. It wasn't raining anymore.

"We should go back to the castle and get some sleep" she told him and took her belongings. "Let's go"

They walked though the garden in silence, each absorbed in a deep thought.

When they reached the entrance, Luna opened a heavy wooden door and crossed the threshold. She made some steps further but suddenly felt as she began losing her balance. She slipped because of her wet snickers. The girl prepared for the fall but it never came.

Strong arms wrapped around her slim waist protectively and pressed her back to someone's firm chest.

When the girl opened her eyes she turned her head to look at her savior.

"Prince Shinn!"

But he didn't respond. His face expressed a grimace of pain. His mouth was half-opened in a silent cry.

She skipped from his hug immediately and turned to face him.

"Prince, what's wrong? Are you alright? I'm sorry, I didn't want to slip--"

But he stopped her mumblings with a gesture of his left hand.

Luna looked at him worriedly. He placed his left hand on his right shoulder and breathed out heavily.

It was dark in the corridor but her eyes got used to the darkness. The moonlight from the windows was the only source of light that helped them to see each other.

"I better go to my room" was his cramp answer.

He walked past her and headed upstairs but suddenly felt her arm on his right shoulder.

"Wait!" she said.

He answered with a yelp of pain.

Luna took her hand away from him immediately.

"_It's very strange_"

"Are you hurt?" she asked carefully. "Better tell me the truth".

He didn't want to tell her about his weakness. It was too embarrassing! He didn't want her to think of him as a looser.

"It's nothing. I'll manage" were his words.

But they didn't satisfy her. She ran further and stood in front of him.

"Where did you get it?" she demanded.

"It's not of your concern" was his arrogant answer.

"But you're injured! You need a medical treatment! Tell me right now where did you get it?"

"_What a noisy woman!_"

"I haven't got used to a return power of a gunblade" Prince said with irritation.

Luna sighed in relief.

"I'm glad that's it is nothing serious" she said briefly. "Go to your room and take a shower. I will be there in 10 minutes".

"_WHAT_?" he was shocked of what he heard. "You will not cross the threshold of my bedroom! Never!"

"Follow my instructions, Your Highness!" she ordered and left him standing speechless in the corridor.

While Prince was doing what he was told, the young beauty went to the castle's kitchen. She need some time to find what she was looking for. When she was finished, the girl headed to the royal heir's room. She knocked on the door and received a permission to enter.

He was sitting on his bed, dressed in a silky dark-green bathrobe. His hair was soaking wet from the shower and he was trying to dry it with a towel in his left hand.

"I see you have already learnt how to turn on the light" she said with a smile approaching his sitting figure.

"Why didn't you go and change in something more suitable. It's disgusting to look at a woman dressed in such clothes, you know".

A loathing was written all over his handsome face.

Luna rolled her eyes.

"_There we go again_" she thought tiredly.

"You will not die seeing me like this. If you don't mind to know, it's normal girls' clothes in my country. So leave your opinion with you and reveal your upper part of body".

"I will not!" he cried stubbornly. His cheeks flushed.

"You _will_ too" the girl said persistently and put her hands on her hips. "If you don't show me your shoulder, I won't be able to help and ease your pain".

He looked away. It was hard to see her like this. She looked…

"_Beautiful_" he noted mentally.

Dressed in a vulgar short nightgown and white stockings… She looked…

"_Fragile_"

Her hair was still wet from the rain and it stack to her face, neck, shoulders. It made her look…

"_Desired_"

Her eyes sparkled with both determination and concern at the same time. And it made you think of her as…

"_Kind-hearted_"

Was he going insane? Why did he feel so unusually light, distracted and unsure around a girl who had destroyed a wall of the abandoned castle with a help of a little ball?

"_She is a walking disaster!"_ Prince cried in his head.

"How long are you going to make me wait?" her voice was getting impatient with notes of irritation in it.

Prince Shinn sighed.

"_There is nothing to be compared with a lady's behavior"._

He slowly took off the upper part of his robe, revealing his well toned chest, shoulders, back and torso.

Luna felt as her slightly trembling body (she was still in wet and cold clothes) got hot suddenly, when she saw his athletically-built body. The girl tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach and sat beside the Prince.

"That's a nasty bruise" she commented observing his right shoulder. Her cool fingers touched a purple area of his skin carefully. But that contact forced the boy to make a small yelp.

"The hilt of the gunblade hit me there when I made a first shoot couple of days ago" he explained after recovering from a wave of pain.

She nodded slowly.

"And you were bearing all this pain for several days!" the girl exclaimed. "You are really strong" her voice was gentle. "I admire your patience".

Ruby-eyed Prince could feel as his cheeks began burning. He looked at the beauty from the corner of his eyes. Her rosy lips were showing an attractive smile.

"Let's try to ease your suffering" with those words she took something in her hands and began scratching its surface with her nails.

"What is it?" he asked with surprise watching her every move.

"It is a cabbage leaf. It helps to take away the pain and swelling. We need to mix a little cabbage juice and honey. Tomorrow you will feel a lot better, believe me".

When she finished doing her medicine, Luna stood up and put the leaf on Prince's injured shoulder. Then she bandaged it with a medicine inside, so that it would not fall in his sleep.

"Now you can take a rest, Your Highness".

He watched her picking her belongings and heading to the door. Before exiting the room, she turned her head and looked at the injured handsome with a smile.

"Thank you".

His face showed a total confusion.

"What for?"

"For catching me in the corridor" she reminded him.

After those words Luna left his room.

The royal heir stared at a shut door for some minutes. Then his lips showed an attractive brief smile.

"It was my pleasure" he whispered before preparing to sleep.

OooooO

The next day Sir Dearka offered Prince to go for a hunt with him. The boy agreed. His shoulder felt much better.

"_I should thank her later_" he noted mentally.

Well, while the males were hunting, the females were very busy.

Luna was trying to teach Miriallia some techniques of self-defense.

"I hope it will not be needed in future, but it's better to know how to defend yourself in different situations" said the captain before starting her lecture and practical lessons.

A beautiful young lady with long brown hair watched as two girls were performing an interesting scene. She arrived some minutes ago and a servant informed her that the owner of the castle was hunting in his forest. She was politely offered to wait for His Honors return. So there she was, standing in a picturesque garden in her elegant blue dress.

When the girls finished their studying of the martial arts, they heard a sound of applause. Two heads turned to the source of the sound synchronically.

"That was a very interesting performance" said an unfamiliar brown-haired young woman.

"Thank you" answered a lavender-eyed beauty. "My I ask who are you?"

The lady showed a beautiful white-teethed smile.

"I want to know the same thing, but you were the first one who asked the question. My name is Countess Shiho Huhnenfuss. Nice to meet you".

"My salutations, Countess" Luna bowed.

Miriallia followed her example.

"My name is Lunamaria Hawke and this is Miriallia Haww. We are Baron Elsman's guests".

"I see. Sir Dearka is absent. I'm glad that I met you. It won't be so boring to wait for his return" the Countess made several steps towards the girls. "Will you tell me what were you doing right now? It looked very exciting". Her voice sounded friendly and cheerful.

She was a noble lady and her posture, manners and behavior could prove that.

"It was just a lesson of self-defense" explained Luna.

Miriallia was too shy to say a word. The brown-haired lady looked very beautiful and refined so the girl couldn't take her eyes away from her.

"Self-defense?" Shiho arched her brow elegantly. "Sounds very meaningful. Will you show me?"

Luna didn't know what to answer. How could she teach Countess those techniques? But on the other hand she was a girl as well; and every girl needs to know the basic movements to protect herself from lustful beasts called men.

So the tutorial began. It was kind of funny to do the moves in a long dress but nobody complained. After two hours of hard work, Countess Huhnenfuss exclaimed with excitement.

"That was very instructive! I'm very glad that you agreed to show me!"

Her cheeks were flushed due to physical exercises she had done.

"Showed you what?" a male voice came from behind.

The three girls turned to look at a newcomer. They saw two attractive young men dressed in hunters' clothes.

"I'm very glad to see you again, Baron" said a brown-haired girl and dropped a curtsey.

Baron bowed in return.

"Welcome to my castle, my beautiful friend!"

When he noticed the girls' curious eyes he understood that it was a good time for introduction.

"Ladies, this is Countess Shiho Huhnenfuss—my best and childhood friend. Shiho, these are Miriallia Haww, Lunamaria Hawke and…"

And he looked at Prince and didn't know what to say.

"And my older brother Shinn" said Lunamaria quickly.

She received a displeased look of ruby eyes to her statement.

The noble lady curtseyed and showed a pleasant smile.

"I'm honored to meet you"

"The pleasure is mine" the royal heir came to her and kissed the girl's gloved hand in a bow.

"_He is so courtly_" noted Luna watching as Prince treated the lady.

"Now, will you tell us what you were doing while we were absent?" asked Sir Dearka with curiosity in his smooth voice.

"It's a girls' secret. It can be too dangers for you to know" answered Countess and glanced at the two females. They just grinned in return.

"Dearka, I need to talk to you. Will you spare some time for me?"

"Of course, Countess. With great pleasure"

OooooO

"_She is so beautiful…like a real princess_"

Luna was sitting on a sofa in a large guestroom. Her face was cupped in her hands while her elbows were resting on her knees.

She didn't notice as somebody entered the room and approached her.

"What are you daydreaming of?" a raven brow arched above a ruby orb.

Actually, he was looking for a certain lavender-eyed girl, but he didn't expect to find her daydreaming with a gloomy face.

When Luna heard his voice she looked up at him. He was standing right beside her. Why didn't she feel his presence?

"_What a shame, girl! Concentrate! And what if it was an enemy?_"

"Oh, it's just you" she whispered with a sigh.

"May I take a sit here?" he pointed at the sofa she was sitting on.

"Certainly"

And he took a sit next to the beauty.

"So, what were you thinking about?"

No really, where did he gain such curiosity?

"It was nothing, just thinking"

They sat in silence for some minutes. Nobody knew what to say.

"How was your hunting?" finally the pause was defeated by Luna's question.

"Oh…it was great! Like…at old good times…" he finished his sentence in a whisper.

"You can't get used to a current situation, can you?"

"I still can't. Sometimes I feel like it's all a bad dream and when I open my eyes everything will remain the same as it has to be. But…I can't understand why it happened to me of all people? I don't remember falling asleep and the next thing I remember is waking up in a strange room with you sitting beside me".

He had a lost expression. His voice sounded calm but it was very quiet, barely a whisper.

"Don't force yourself to remember. You will know the truth when the time comes" she said softly.

Luna didn't notice herself reaching for his head and taking away some strands of his thick hair from his face.

He looked at her with surprise in his mysterious eyes. He didn't jerk away from the contact as it was in Miriallia's house, but confusion could be read all over his handsome and young face now.

"Sorry" she took her hand away immediately when she noticed his expression "I didn't mean to--"

"I want to thank you for yesterday" he interrupted politely.

"Huh?"

"As you promised my shoulder feels a lot better today".

His words were sincere, she could tell that for sure.

Luna felt a blush appearing on her cheeks.

"It was nothing" she said softly "it's my duty to help people".

"You are strange, you know?" he grinned briefly.

"Oh, here you are!"

The two had almost jumped on their sits from unexpectedness.

"What are you two doing here? Baron invites us to the dining-room. Come on!" announced an auburn-haired girl.

"Yes, we are coming. Thank you, Miriallia".

Luna stood up and stretched her hands.

"Are you coming, Prince?" she asked a still sitting boy. He looked a little carried away even now.

"Yes".

And they both headed to the dining-room to share a dinner with their new friends.

OooooO

They sat in a luxury library. The girl was concerned. She wasn't used to see her friend all thoughtful and concentrated.

"Dearka, is anything wrong? You've changed since the day we met each other the last time".

He gave her a smile.

"Why do you think this way? I'm the same old myself".

"I told you earlier, don't try to fool me" she responded.

He didn't know what to say. The girl had a great talent of reading him like an opened book.

"Shiho, tell me, how is everything between Yzak and you?"

It was the first thing that came to his head in order to change the topic. But when the blond man saw a suddenly saddened face in front of him, he understood that he did a wrong thing.

"I broke the engagement" she said quietly.

Dearka needed some seconds to fully comprehend the meaning of her words.

"You did _what_?!" he looked at the girl with round eyes. "But Shiho, he really cares about you!"

"If he really cared, he wouldn't have treated me like I was a burden and would have told me the truth. I asked him about that conversation between you two and he refused to answer my questions. He said that it didn't concern me. But Dearka, I saw you and him after that conversation. Both of you were deep in thoughts and--"

"But Shiho, it wasn't the reason to break your engagement!"

The man pressed a palm to his forehead.

"It was!" she insisted. "If he doesn't want to share his secrets with his future wife then I can't share my life with a husband like him".

"Maybe you have a point…" Baron whispered thoughtfully.

They sat in a pregnant silence until Sir Elsman broke it.

"But you do have feelings for him, don't you?"

She turned her head and looked at his face. Her eyes were serious and held a stern gaze in them.

"It doesn't matter. He didn't want to listen to your words and help you as a friend. Even if I had feelings for Duke Joule, it will not change my decision. I can't live with a man who turned his back to his friends".

Her voice was calm but filled with determination.

Dearka sweat-dropped.

"How come it's my fault that you two broke up? I didn't want you two end up like this. Oh, my long tongue! Why did I ever tell you about those problems?" he buried his face in his palms.

Countess took a sip of her tea not paying attention to his outburst.

"I'm glad that you told me that day. It helped me to look at Duke Joule from another side. I don't regret that I found out the truth" and she took another sip from a china-cup.

A lavender-eyed man looked at her between his long fingers.

"But _I_ regret it!"

Oh, why was the life so cruel to him? Now Yzak would never find himself a wife! And Shiho…What had he done!!! He was a witness of how their eyes met the day they had been introduced to each other. That eye contact could be called a challenge between two powerful people who knew the cost to themselves. Dearka understood immediately that they were meant to be together. And now…OH!!!!!!

"How am I going to live with this from now on? I destroyed my best friends' future" and then his face turned pale "Yzak! He will challenge me and I will fight a duel with my best friend! I don't want to receive a glove!!! Oh my!!!"

The man's eyes filled with horror.

"And if I die on that duel? Even my death will not change anything therefore it will be useless!"

Countess was listening to Dearka's discussion with himself and said in a strange tone.

"In a current situation you are useless indeed, Dearka. If Duke Joule challenges you he will lose the last chance to beg my pardon. So let's stop discussing this topic and talk about you".

The girl's light-lavender eyes showed an interest.

"So, who are those people that I met in the garden? I have never seen them before"

"Well…they are my guests".

"I see, do they somehow connect to the problem that you told me about?"

Baron's eye twitched a little. No, really, she was so penetrating.

"Well…I really don't know what to tell you about it. I don't want to put more problems on your fragile shoulders. That's why I will not answer your questions" he sighed.

She arched an eyebrow and crossed her arms on her chest.

"Hmm…so they _do_ have a connection"

Dearka's jaw dropped. But as he had promised, he didn't answer her and remained silent.

"I have never thought that you would ever betray our friendship. We have shared our problems with each other since we were children, because it was easier to find the right solution. Remember what happened to Duke Joule?"

Baron swallowed hard. It wasn't fair!

"Shiho, but--"

"I'm listening to you attentively, my dear friend, Baron Dearka Elsman, the 3d of Elsmans" with those words the lady made herself comfortable in the armchair and prepared to listen to blond man's story. Attention could be read all over her beautiful face.

There was nothing left but telling the truth. The tanned man sighed heavily and started retelling the recent events in detail.

"I told you everything because I trust you like no one else" that was the last words of his story.

She nodded.

"I will not tell anyone".

"Thank you" he gave her a grateful smile.

The girl rubbed her chin in a deep thought. It was hard to believe in that story. Dearka wasn't a person who would do anything without making sure in the rightness of his decision. Only that fact could make her believe his words.

"The reason of my visit today was asking you to escort me to the ball. I hope you remember that His Majesty's 55th Birthday is in a week, don't you?"

The man had shocked expression.

"I have totally forgotten!"

"Since Duke Joule can't do that, I was hoping that you could take his role as my cavalier"

Baron was too surprised to respond. The girl continued.

"By the way, I think it will be a great chance for your guests to enter the royal palace and have a little investigation. What do you think?"

"It will be very helpful!" he answered with interest in his eyes.

"But the King mustn't see Prince Shinn. It would be better for both of them".

"There is a sense in your words, Shiho. I will be by his side during the ball and won't let him do anything stupid. Prince is a little desperate on his head.

Baron laughed. Countess just smiled.

"Then I'm taking the girls with me. And Prince will stay with you. We will meet at the royal palace next Tuesday".

"Alright than! And thank you, milady".

Shiho smiled. She had a great idea about that entire affair and the two girls had the best roles in it.

OooooO

Luna couldn't believe in what she was going to do! She was going to sing for the King at his Birthday party! How did she end up like that?!

"But you have a wonderful voice, Luna!" said Countess. "I heard you singing in the garden. It will be a wonderful present for the King!"

"How can I sing for somebody like him???"

"It's a part of our plan. So, here are the lyrics. Try to learn it. This song is very popular nowadays. I'm sure he will like it. The orchestra will come in the evening to help you".

With those words Countess left the girl sitting in her room in a total astonishment.

Well, if to be honest, Luna indeed could sing. They said, she had a great talent in that sphere. Her mother wanted her to become a professional opera singer. And Luna was going to follow that advice before her father was announced MIA. Young Lunamaria Hawke decided to join the army no matter what, even if she had no choice but to lie to her upset mother.

And here she was now—a military girl who was going to sing for her enemy. Just great!

And what about Miriallia, you ask?

Countess Huhnenfuss decided to teach her to dance. She gave her the best dance-teachers to fulfill the idea.

Was Miriallia happy? It was hard to say especially when she came out of the practice-room with exhaustion written all over her face and body.

What Luna really loved was lady Shiho's dress-room that she allowed the girls to use. Countess had so many beautiful dresses, outfits for different situations! The lady was so kind and gave the girls couple of dresses as a gift.

Miriallia was on the seventh heaven from happiness. She had never had such expensive and beautiful dresses in her life.

Luna was glad too. It wasn't like she didn't like the girls' clothes. No. She was a girl and loved beautiful dresses as every normal girl. It's just…sometimes they were not too comfortable to do some things. Aerobics for example.

The week passed by quickly. It was time to act!

OooooO

Prince found it very boring without a certain lavender-eyed girl around. Days felt like weeks. He didn't know how to entertain himself.

"Baron, have you ever heard about a technique that sharpens your hearing and senses?" was an unusual question.

Dearka looked at the true royal heir, who was sitting on a wide window-sill and looking through the window. His gaze was filled with sadness.

Could it be that His Highness missed a magenta-haired beauty?

Well, Prince was not the only one who felt empty inside. Baron felt a lack of certain auburn-haired girl's presence. He wanted to talk to her, to help her finding an interesting book in his library and then ask her if she liked it or not.

The males sighed heavily in union.

"No, Prince Shinn. What is it?" Came the reply finally.

"It's a beautiful technique. You have to close your eyes and feel the things around you with your hearing. You can even defeat an enemy with your eyes closed".

"How interesting! Do you know it, Your Highness?" Baron's eyes turned into stars.

"I saw it only once"

"Show me!" the blond man exclaimed.

"Well, I'm not sure if I do it right, but I can try at least…"

And so the tutorial began. The week passed by very quickly.

OooooO

The day of King Jibril's Birthday had finally come.

A beautiful white carriage stopped by the main gates.

Baron and his friend's nephew's son were already there waiting for ladies' arrival.

The three noble beauties stepped out of the carriage, revealing their beautiful toilets.

Baron was paralyzed by the girl with long auburn hair. She looked gorgeous in her light-yellow ball-dress with long sleeves. Her hair was decorated with sparkling clips that made her look like she was a fairy. A shy expression on her cute face and uncertainty in her sky-blue eyes made the young man almost lost his head. He felt himself light and free, that he was ready to come closer to the beauty, stand on his knee and confess his feelings to her.

Countess hid her sly smile behind her feather fan.

"_I didn't think that he would drool like that in a public_" she thought.

Shiho chose to dress herself in a red toilet with a stand-up collar. It made a good harmony with her brown hair that was took in a high hair-style. High silky gloves hid the creamy skin of her arms up to the shoulders. She had grandeur in all her look.

Prince Shinn didn't pay attention to what was happening around him. The gaze of his mysterious wine-coloured eyes, which was hidden under the shadow of his wide-brimmed hat with a feather, was concentrated on a beauty in front of him.

She stood just in several steps from him. Her white ball-dress decorated with embroidered pattern of orange and pink beads, suited her slim figure perfectly. Short puffed sleeves revealed the beauty of her slender arms. He saw more of her skin earlier when she wore those vulgar clothes of hers. But today she looked different. Her long magenta hair was falling on her shoulders freely, reaching her low back. The girl couldn't know how beautiful and breathtaking she was.

Prince swallowed hard. He couldn't understand what was happening to him. All he wanted—to place his eyes on her and never lose her from his sight.

"You look really nice in this camisole with a hat on your head" he heard her melodic voice.

She sent him a pleasant smile. Her eyes held a gentle gaze. Her lips were the colour of a pink rose.

The royal heir lowered his head quickly as he felt a strange burning appeared on his face. A wide brim of his hat hid his face from her sight.

"You look nice today as well" was his soar answer.

Little did they know that two sharp lavender eyes were watching them attentively. A brief grin of red lips was hidden behind a fan.

"I think it's time for us to join the evening" said Countess politely.

Baron came back from his dreamland and looked at his friend.

"Yes, of course" and he outstretched his hand to her. "I'll escort you, milady"

"No, today you escort lady Miriallia Koenig. I came with my cousin Lunamaria Swan"

Everyone looked at Luna. She smiled in return.

"And what about Pr….Shinn?" Hawke asked.

Prince didn't get mad as he always did when he heard somebody calling him so informally. It was a miracle.

"I came here with my good friend's nephew's son Terry Falcóne, but I will be very glad to escort you today, milady" with those words Baron Elsman bowed to Miriallia and offered his hand to her. She shyly placed her little hand in his.

"Then let's go and give our salutations to His Majesty".

After Shiho told those words, everybody walked to the main entrance.

OooooO

Luna was shocked! The King had the same face as the Chairman from her world. She tried really hard to hide her amusement when Lady Shiho was introducing her to the royal man.

"Your Majesty, we are very glad to be here tonight. Thank you for letting us join your celebration. My cousin and I wish you long years of living and ruling!"

"Thank you, Countess Huhnenfuss! Lady Swan, please enjoy the evening!" The King said with a smile on his wrinkled face.

"_What an ugly view_" thought Luna sending a charming smile to the man.

Somehow Shinn felt alarming when Baron was introducing him to the King. Prince sensed something dangerous coming from a violet-haired man.

Everyone was enjoying the evening as they were told. Dearka offered Miriallia to dance with him. She agreed with a shy smile.

Prince stood alone in a far corner of a ball-room, watching as hundreds of couples were dancing while catching the rhythm of the waltz.

A lavender-eyed beauty never came to him like she didn't know him. He watched intensely as she danced with noble men cheerfully.

"_I hope she didn't forget why we are here_" was an arrogant thought.

"Excuse me"

He heard a familiar voice beside him. Prince turned his head and saw Countess who was looking at him.

"Yes milady, may I help you?" he asked politely.

"Actually, you may" she smiled in return.

He didn't know what she meant, but he decided to…

"Will you give me an honor to dance with you?"

"With great pleasure" and she placed her gloved hand in his warm one.

While they were spinning along with the sound of the music, Shiho began to speak.

"Baron did a great work. You look unrecognizable with this brown-coloured shoulder-length wig, small beard and tidy moustache. Try not to take off your hat so that no one sees your eye colour".

"I won't" he sighed.

"You are a good dancer, milord" the lady smiled.

"Thank you" the boy's cheeks turned gentle-pink.

When the music stopped Countess dropped a curtsey.

"It was a pleasure to dance with you, milady" the royal heir bowed to the beauty in a red dress.

"The pleasure is mine"

"May I ask you for this dance, Countess?"

Both Shiho and Shinn looked at a newcomer. It was a tall young man with short platinum hair and pure blue eyes.

The girl gave him a stern look.

"I'd rather not" was her calm answer.

"Then I have no other choice but to keep on asking you until you give me a positive answer, milady" his voice was calm as well but the blue eyes were looking in the violet orbs with challenge.

"Then I have to disappoint you, Your Honor--"

But she never had a chance to finish her sentence as a young man with a hat on his head stepped forward and said:

"The lady is dancing with me today"

She was surprised by his braveness. The blue-eyed man sent him an irritated look and answered:

"I wish you to have a good and enjoyable time".

After those words he bowed to the girl and left.

Countess breathed out with relief.

"Thank you, Sir Terry"

The boy turned to face her.

"Who is he? Do you know him?"

"He is…_was_…my fiancé" she whispered sadly. "I better go and prepare a gift for King Jibril" and she walked away quickly leaving Prince Shinn standing in astonishment.

OooooO

After some period of time everyone was asked to the garden where Countess Huhnenfuss was going to greet the King. There were lots of chairs and benches so that the guests could sit down and enjoy a coming surprise.

When all sits were taken, Lady Shiho announced:

"Your Majesty, my cousin Lady Lunamaria and I have prepared a preset for your 55th Birthday. We hope you will love it as it comes from the purity of our hearts".

As those words had been told, Countess Huhnenfuss and all palace musicians took their sits in the centre of the garden. Lady Shiho was the leading violin.

Prince was surprised by her words. He looked around but couldn't see the girl in a white ball-dress. When he looked at the orchestra again he noticed her.

Luna slowly walked in the centre and dropped a curtsey to the King, who sat right in front of her just in several steps.

Prince Shinn didn't notice how he clenched his fists at the view.

The music started to play. It was a beautiful and melodic prelude. And then he heard the first words of the song.

_**Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark,**_

_**For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart,**_

_**To weave by picking up the pieces that remain,**_

_**Melodies of life - love's lost refrain**_

The royal heir's jaw started to fall from its place. He was charmed by the beauty of her voice. It was strong and gentle at the same time. It could reach very high notes easily.

"Perfect soprano" he whispered.

The girl continued.

_**Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why.**_

_**We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye.**_

_**And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?**_

_**Let them ring out loud till they unfold.**_

Her gesticulations were smooth. She sang the song like she was telling her own life story. The expressions on her face changed from loving to sad, from gentle to sorrowful. Then she opened her arms and closed her lavender eyes.

_**A voice from the past, joining yours and mine.**_

_**Adding up the layers of harmony.**_

_**And so it goes, on and on.**_

_**Melodies of life,**_

_**To the sky beyond the flying birds - forever and beyond **_

"_She is…gorgeous_…"

His mysterious eyes were locked on the singing girl. She couldn't see or know that a certain crimson-colored-eyed boy was looking at her with so much caring and adoration.

"_A swan_…"

A pleasant feeling of warmth began running up and down his body concentrating in his young heart.

Little did he know that there was one more person who had most of those feelings the Prince had.

Luna continued her singing.

_**So far and away, see the birds as it flies by.**_

_**Gliding through the shadows of the clouds up in the sky.**_

_**I've laid my memories and dreams upon those wings.**_

_**Leave them now and see what tomorrow brings. **_

_**In your dearest memories, do you remember loving me?**_

_**Was it fate that brought us close and now leaves me behind? **_

_**A voice from the past, joining yours and mine.**_

_**Adding up the layers of harmony.**_

_**And so it goes, on and on.**_

_**Melodies of life,**_

_**To the sky beyond the flying bird - forever and on. **_

_**If I should leave this lonely world behind,**_

_**Your voice will still remember our melody.**_

_**Now I know we'll carry on.**_

_**Melodies of life,**_

_**Come circle round and grow deep in our hearts, as long as we remember. **_

"Bravo!" exclaimed the King standing up and approaching the girl. "It was a great present. Thank you!" and he kissed Luna's soft hand.

All she could do was smiling happily despite the nauseating feeling that came from that kiss.

"We are very glad that His Majesty loved it!" said Countess with a violin in her hands.

"How could I not?" the King was still holding Luna's hand in his. "I invite everyone to the ball-room! Let's dance, my dear guests!" exclaimed the royal man and then turned to the beauty beside him.

"Will you give me an honor and dance with me, milady?"

"It will be _my_ honor, Your Majesty" she said looking away shyly.

Of course she didn't want to dance with that old violet-haired frog, but she needed information and it was a pure miracle that he fell for her performance. Lady Shiho could be a genius soldier with her strategic mind.

Prince's eyes glowed with silent cold flames of hatred as he watched the old man kissing Luna's hand and then inviting her to dance. And what was that? Wasn't it a blush on her face?

A boy gritted his teeth hard. A sudden touch to his shoulder awakened him from his dark thoughts.

"Here you are, Terry. I was looking for you everywhere"

He heard Dearka's voice behind him.

"_If you were not flirting with Miriallia you wouldn't have lost me in the first place_" Prince thought angrily and shook off the man's hand from his shoulder.

"I'm going to the ball-room" was all Shinn said.

Baron blinked several times at the boy's leaving form.

OooooO

Luna was dancing the 3d dance with the King. She was tired of it but didn't show her boredom. The King was smiling and giving her compliments. She pretended being happy about that.

The girl didn't know where the entire situation could bring her to, but she decided to play her role.

Today Hawke was really lucky to catch King Jibril's attention. She would know the needed information no matter what.

"I didn't know that such a beautiful girl as you would be interested in alchemy" he was so surprised to know it.

"But I really do!" smiled Luna.

It was an interesting fact, she thought. When the man began telling her about his love to alchemy, she decided to play along. All in all, she used to be the best student in chemistry at school.

"It's so interesting how people can make gold using several metals. I was amused when I heard about it!"

"Not only gold, my dear" he was enjoying himself. "You can make whatever you want by mixing different ingredients".

"Really?" her eyes were shining with admiration.

Oh, we forgot to tell you that Luna used to attend a theatre-club at her school-days as well.

"If you want, I can show you. But we have to go to my cabinet" said Jibril.

That was very intriguing. Luna thought that it could be a single chance to know anything. She was a soldier after all; she could protect herself in any situation.

The girl looked at the old frog…sorry..King with a smile on her pink lips and adoration in her bottomless lavender eyes.

"I'd love to, Your Majesty!"

When he heard her tender and melodic voice he felt like he was flying. A scent of spring appeared around him and he breathed in that aroma filling his lungs as deep as he could.

"Follow me, milady" he said and walked her to the door.

OoooO

He didn't like what he was watching. Luna was dancing with his enemy, sending him those meaningful looks and shy smiles.

"_She has never looked at me like this"_ his thoughts were killing him slowly.

"She is so good in dancing" Miriallia clapped her hands in admiration.

"_Too good_"

"Yes. Lady Luna is all in her playing" said Baron.

"Are you kidding?" Prince turned his head and looked at Dearka sharply. Ruby eyes were burning with anger. "She is using her charms to seduce him!"

A light brow of Baron's arched a little.

"Even if it's true, why do you bother? She is doing it for _your_ sake, as far as I remember" he paused watching as Prince turned away and began to devour the dancing couple with his eyes.

Sir Dearka grinned.

"You know Terry, you look like you are jealous"

Those words forced the royal heir to look at his companion with total shock on his young face.

"Is it true?" asked Miriallia with her naïve voice.

"Sir Terry is jealous?" Lady Shiho appeared out of nowhere.

Three couples of curious eyes were concentrated on the boy.

"…Never in my life!..."

And he turned away from them, lowering his head so that he could hide the blush on his cheeks under the shadow of his hat. But before he could do it, boy's eyes caught an awful scene. Luna was walking away with the King.

"It seems like our beauty achieved her goal" whispered Dearka with surprise written all over his face.

"What does it mean?" he wanted to know the truth immediately.

"She managed to enter the east wing. Even we, noblemen, can't go there without King's permission"

Shinn sent a cold glare at the leaving couple.

"_What a low woman she is. How could I think good of her? How could I trust a person like her? She is ready to do anything to reach her goal. How shameful_".

An unbearable feeling of deep offence appeared in his heart. He wanted to shout, he wanted to beat somebody, to kick and to growl, he wanted to challenge that ugly violet-haired beast and kill him for doing _**that**_ to her.

"I hope you don't think anything bad of her, do you?" Baron asked with concern in his voice, as he noticed Prince's tension and white knuckles of his clenched fists.

The boy didn't answer and it was very alarming.

Baron grabbed Shinn by the shoulders and turned him to look in his face.

"Don't try to do anything stupid. I can't let you spoil everything. Get a hold of yourself and your jealousy. She is not that type of women. You heard me? She will never do anything like that!" he said it in a whisper but his words sounded seriously and had a great power.

"Leave me alone!" barked Prince and freed himself from the man's grasp.

"Where are you going?" the blond man cried at the boy's track.

"To get some fresh air" was an aggressive response.

"Let him be" Countess placed a hand on Baron's shoulder. "He has a hot head now. He needs to cool down a little".

"Why did he get so angry?" asked Miriallia not understanding the whole situation.

"Don't let your guard down, beauties. I feel a storm is coming…"

OooooO

The couple walked into a luxury furnished cabinet.

"This is the place where I can think and get some mental rest from my duties. Being a King isn't that easy"

The girl listened to man's words while looking around. Her sharp eyes tried to catch anything unusual, anything that could help to prove her theory.

"Let me treat you to a fabulous drink from a faraway country. Fortunately, I managed to solve a secret of its recipe and now I can make it myself" King's wrinkled face showed a mysterious grin. "Alchemy can rule the world, my dear".

Luna took a glass from his hand and sipped a cool orange liquid. The King did the same from his glass.

"_Tastes like Fanta"_ she thought with surprise.

"It's very delicious, My Lord" Luna gave him her unique smile.

The King felt like he was going to lose his head from the light feeling in his stomach.

"Would you like to see my collection of books?" he suddenly asked enthusiastically.

"I'd love to!"

Luna watches as the old man ran to the book shelves like he was a teenager who wanted to boast about his unusual hobby.

"May I look through the books?" asked the girl shyly.

"Of course!"

She took the first random book from the shelf and opened it. It was a molecular-biology reference-book.

"_Is he going to create bio-weapons?_"

Luna was shocked to learn that the King was _that _interested in chemistry and biology.

"It must be very interesting to know all these things" the girl smiled innocently.

"Yes, it can make you invincible. Alchemy is our future!"

A knock on the door interrupted the old man's speech.

"Come in!" was an order.

The door opened and a tall blond man came in. He had a white mask on his face.

"Your Majesty, sorry for interrupting your meeting, but I brought important news" the man said in a bow.

Luna noticed as the King's cheerful eyes became stern and sharp. He turned to her and apologized.

"Sorry, Lady Lunamaria. I have to go out for a while. When I come back we will continue our conversation".

"I'll be very honored, Your Majesty" the beauty dropped a curtsey.

When two men exited the room Luna began her investigation. She had no time to waste. The King could come back any moment. She looked through the titles of his books. Mostly all of them were connected to chemistry and physics.

The girl went to the wooden table. She opened every case of it and found an interesting book in one of them. The book was old and very thick. A beautiful golden inscription was on its face.

"A Diary" the girl read the letters.

She decided to take it with her. Maybe it could bring some wanted information.

While she was observing the cases her eyes caught something white-coloured under the tablecloth. Luna took the fabric away immediately and was stupefied of what she saw.

Right there, on a table there lay draughts of the most horrible and death-dealing machines in her world.

"GUNDAM" her pale lips whispered in disbelieve.

She looked at every draught very carefully.

"_All of them are for new models. They are several steps higher than those in our world. But how can it be_?"

Though, there were too many questions in her head, she managed to fund the answer to the main one.

"_The Chairman and the King is the same person. That's for sure_"

There was a deaf sound from behind. It made Luna jump in fear that someone had entered the cabinet. She immediately smoothed the tablecloth and walked away from the table.

Nobody came in. The girl sighed with relief.

Then she heard some voices. They could barely be heard and Luna couldn't understand a word.

A magenta-haired beauty found the solution to that problem very quickly. She took a glass and pressed it to the wall the voices were coming from. Then she pressed her ear to the end of the glass and began listening.

"…our spy from ORB Kingdom informed us…found the…" it was the blond man's voice. Luna recognized it.

"At last! At last the artifact will be mine! Nothing can stop me now!"

The other voice belonged to Jibril.

Luna tried to listen harder but there was silence behind the wall.

Then she heard footsteps. The beauty looked around to find any place where she could hide. Her gaze fell on a balcony door. She quickly took the diary and ran to the balcony to hide herself behind the wall.

The next moment the door opened and somebody walked in. She heard the sound of steps in the room and a voice.

"She must have gone to the ball-room".

After those words the person exited the room.

Luna went out of the balcony. She decided to wait for some minutes and then go to the ball-room to meet everyone.

OooooO

He was walking through a garden that belonged to his family a long time ago. It wasn't the Royal Garden where he used to play with his sister any more. It looked a lot different now.

Prince sighed heavily. Everything had been changed. What an awful feeling it was to come back home and find out that it wasn't yours anymore; that it belonged to a total stranger now.

The boy was wandering through the bushes and exotic plants when something white-coloured caught his attention. He looked intensely and saw a certain magenta-haired girl who looked like she was looking for someone.

Shinn didn't notice how he ended up standing behind her, but he knew the only thing. He needed to look in her eyes.

The eyes of a liar and a traitor.

OooooO

"Here you are, beauty!" exclaimed Sir Dearka noticing the girl in a white dress.

"We have to go back to the castle immediately" she looked worried and it made him worried as well. "Where is…Terry?" asked Luna looking around to find a man with a hat.

"He went to the garden. I'll get him"

"No, I will go and tell him. You better go and find Lady Shiho and Miriallia. Let's meet in the garden in 5 minutes".

"Understood" said Baron Elsman and went off.

Luna entered a beautiful Royal garden to look for a certain person. But she didn't need to as the person she was searching for appeared behind her.

"So you decided to give us an honor and finally came back" his tone was as cold as ice.

Hawke turned to face him and was taken aback by his narrowing eyes.

"_What's up with him_?"She thought.

"We need to hurry and return to Baron's castle. I have to tell you something really important" the girl's voice was filled with concern.

"Maybe you better stay here. Seems, you really enjoyed his company" he gifted her with a look full of disgust.

She couldn't understand why he was so cold to her. Luna came closer and handed a thick book to him.

"Take this. I found it and thought that it could help you to gain your memory back"

He took the book from her hands and grinned indifferently.

"You even had time to think of me. I'm very flattered. What did you have to do to please His Majesty so that he would give it to you?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked desperately.

"I'm telling you that you _betrayed_ us!" he shouted at her. His eyes were glowing with rage. "You used your charms to seduce him and when it worked you just left us behind and went with him to have a shameful relation…you are…you are a disgustful woman!"

Luna looked at him with her widened eyes. She couldn't believe that he was telling her those words. A suffocating feeling of deep and painful offence wounded her heart with its sharp ends.

And he continued giving her low names.

"You are a dishonor to all women race!"

A sound of a hard slap filled the night garden.

A wide-brimmed hat fell on the ground.

A sharp and burning pain attacked Prince's senses. He grabbed his hot cheek in shock and placed his widened eyes on the girl in front of him.

"I will never do such a thing to reach the goal. Even if the circumstances are against me, even if there is no other choice, I would rather prefer death than doing _that_".

She looked at him with cold emotionless eyes. Her voice was low and warning. Luna turned her back to him in order to hide her coming tears.

She couldn't cry!

She had no right to show her weakness to that…arrogant jerk.

It was very hard to get a grip of herself, to take her emotions under control. She didn't let the tears to roll down her pale cheeks.

It hurt. Oh, how it hurt! How could he say that? She was trying to help him. She risked not to be caught. And all of that was mostly for his sake. How could he do that to her?

Luna looked up and noticed three couples of worried eyes.

"You are here already" she said as cheerful as she could at that moment.

"But…" Baron began but was interrupted by Shiho's elbow in his ribs.

"If everyone is ready, let's go then" announced Countess Huhnenfuss and headed to the main gates of the palace where the carriage was waiting.

Everyone followed her example.

OooooO

They sat in a total silence of his luxury library. Ever since they had arrived to the castle, nobody said a word.

Prince and Luna ignored each other and when they met in a corridor Luna just turned her back to him and walked away in the opposite direction. She didn't come out of her room since that "meeting".

"I'm worried, Baron. Prince Shinn told her so many terrible words. She must be suffering right now. Did you see those shining tears in her eyes back in the garden?" Miriallia's voice was very sad and filled with worry.

Barong sighed. They sat in the library to figure out what to do next.

Lady Shiho took Luna to Sir Dearka's castle and then rode back to hers.

"I don't know what to do, beauty. Prince was too cruel to her. She didn't deserve such harsh treatment. Lady Luna was doing it for his sake. I'm sure she is crying in her room at the moment"

"So maybe we better go and try to cheer her up?" said an auburn-haired girl, whose upset face made the blond man want to embrace her and protect from any sorrow.

"We must to! She needs friends' support!" he proclaimed trying to ignore a previous thought.

And they stood up and headed to the door. But they didn't have a chance to open in as it flew open itself.

Baron blinked several times in excitement. The next moment he saw Lady Lunamaria coming in. She was dressed in a horse rider's clothes with tight pants and high leather boots.

The couple stood in astonishment. They thought their friend was crying out her pain in a pillow on the second floor of the castle. But here she was—standing in front of them in unusual clothes and with determined gaze of her lavender eyes.

"Can you take me to the mines?" she asked seriously.

Baron blinked again.

"At this late hour?"

"Yes. I have seen something very bad and dangerous in Jibril's cabinet. And now I have a suspicion about those mines and all that stuff".

Sir Elsman rubbed his chin in a deep thought.

"Theoretically….I _can_ take you there…but it will be a little problematic to enter the mines"

The girl made several steps to him.

"I'll think of something. Did you see anything unusual in the mines?"

"No, just simple mines with simple miners"

"Let's go. We have no time to waste! Jibril is planning something and we must stop him!"

Luna punched her palm with her knuckle.

"And what about Prince Shinn?" asked Sir Elsman.

The magenta-haired girl's face turned thoughtful.

"It doesn't concern him. From now on it's not his war. It's mine and I must win it!"

The next moment the door to the library flew open and a raven-haired young man stepped inside.

"Everything that concerns _my_ Kingdom concerns _me_. I'm going with you"

Luna sent him a cold glare.

"Do whatever you please, Your Highness. Just make sure not to spoil my investigation" she told him in a warning tone.

Baron and Miriallia's eyelids twitched. Something was coming for sure.

"Who are you to order me around, woman!" a ruby-eyed Prince shouted.

Luna just turned to live, completely ignoring His Highness's outburst.

"Let's go, Sir Dearka. Miriallia, you better stay here. I won't forgive myself if anything happens to you there. Please, take care of His Honor's castle before we come back".

The auburn-haired girl nodded sadly. She really wanted to go with them.

"Don't worry, beauty. We will be here before you start missing me" the blond man winked to her making the girl's cheeks turn pink.

The three rode to the mines.

OooooO

Thanks for Dearka's abilities of talking too much and making the guardians respect him so much, trio entered the cave successfully.

After some time of wandering, they noticed as five miners carried a huge box and entered a small elevator-like room that went down the next moment.

The spies followed carefully the route of those miners and found themselves in a…

"It's a laboratory!" Luna whispered with shocked expression.

She saw a lot of famous scientists from the world she came from. All of them died in different accidents in her world, believing the news.

But the greatest shock was brought by a view of a giant scaring metallic figure.

"What is it?" asked Dearka in a whisper. His eyes were widened from what he saw.

"It's the most dangerous killing-machine in both our countries"

"_GUNDAM_" the thought sliced her mind. "_They look a lot modified than those in our army_".

A sudden sound of someone's cry broke the silence.

Three heads turned to the side the sound came from. They saw a man in a white laboratory robe, who refused to do something and was punished for his disobedience.

Ruby eyes glowed with flame of justice. Prince took the first object he saw on the ground and threw it at the guardian. The object reached its goal and hit the man's head successfully.

Luna paled. While she was absorbed in her thoughts, the royal heir had spoilt the mission!

Her eyes widened when she saw a coming armored man who had a chance to tell something to another guardian. The girl thought quickly. If they found them now everything would be ruined and their intention would turn useless.

Sir Elsman was gesticulating his disappointment to Prince who didn't know what to say.

The boy gripped the hilt of his gunblade and was ready for defense, when…

"Baron, take His Highness away from here. If they find him it will be the end. Take him away, quickly!"

"But what about you?" Baron's face showed a worried expression.

"I'll stay" she said firmly.

Dearka wanted to say something but didn't. She was right. She was ready to sacrifice herself in order to save them.

Baron nodded with gratitude in his lavender eyes.

"I will not run away! I will fight! How dare they beat innocent people!" were the words of "justice with dark-red eyes".

"Baron, hurry! He is the only hope for the Kingdom! Take him away and hide!" she said and stepped out of her shelter.

Prince felt unsure but Baron's tight grip on his shoulder pulled him to the exit.

The men run away.

Prince Shinn couldn't believe what had just happened. She decided to stay there in order to save them. He looked at the road he was running with emotionless empty eyes.

"_He is the only hope for the Kingdom_" her words were running in his head with sonic speed.

"_She sacrificed herself to save __**me**_" were his bitter thoughts. Shinn felt as sudden emptiness began to devour him from inside.

If not for his recklessness everything would have been fine.

…It was his entire fault….

-----

The end of the 5th chapter! ^^

The songs that were used here were "You'll be in my heart" by Phil Collins and "Melodies of life" by Faye Wong (the theme song from the game Final Fantasy 9)

I hope you all liked the 5th chapter.

Please, leave your reviews. They help me to keep on writing!


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